Buffalo, NY – Today the Albright-Knox’s Public Art Initiative announced that a new mural by Buffalo artist Edreys Wajed (American, born 1974) will be installed at Say Yes Buffalo at 712 Main Street. The design was produced in collaboration with local mural artist and sign painter James Moffitt, aka YAMES (American, born 1987).

Edreys Wajed is one of the most prominent artists working in Buffalo today. He has been a celebrated figure in the cultural scene in Buffalo for decades as a musician, poet, playwright, and designer. His first major public commission came with TheFreedom Wall project in 2016, where he established himself as an artistic force with an unparalleled voice. Since that time, Wajed has produced numerous murals and installations throughout the Western New York region and beyond.

In the wake of George Floyd’s tragic murder, our country has had to reckon with deep-rooted aspects of systemic racism. This has resulted in artists considering their roles and responsibilities in extending the conversation and dialogue around social justice and antiracism. More than ever, the cultural movement of Black Lives Matter, spearheaded by Alicia Garza (depicted by Julia Bottoms on The Freedom Wall), Opal Tometi, and Patrisse Cullors, has reached a new importance across America.

Wajed’s contribution to our civic conversation is his profound yet minimal design for a mural that states, with the silhouetted profiles of two figures, “Love Black boys even when they become men,” and “Love Black girls even when they become women.” 

With his frank and passionate words, Wajed exposes how our culture perpetuates stereotypes of Black children as beautiful and harmless, but at some invisible stage of their lives, and through no fault of their own, they may be deemed dangerous as adults. By revealing this cultural reality, Wajed shows why the statement “Black Lives Matter” is so profound, yet only the beginning of a long and necessary conversation. 

“Love Black Boys and Love Black Girls is a phrase and design I’ve been massaging for years now,” said Wajed. “It wasn’t until a dear friend added the later portion ‘even when they become men and women,’ that the full design and concept truly came to be.”

This mural will stand as an important reminder for our citizens to continually reevaluate relationships with Black people throughout our nation and recognize that we must love our adult Black neighbors, coworkers, partners, and all people of color. 

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The Albright-Knox’s Public Art Initiative is an innovative partnership between the museum and the County of Erie established in 2013 to enhance our shared sense of place and cultural identity in the urban and suburban landscapes of Western New York. The City of Buffalo joined the partnership in 2014. The goal of the initiative is to create spaces of dialogue where diverse communities have the ability to socially engage with, actively respond to, and cooperatively produce great public art that is capable of empowering individuals, creating stronger neighborhoods, and establishing Western New York as a critical cultural center.

This mural was produced by the Albright-Knox Public Art Initiative in close collaboration with Say Yes Buffalo and Clover Group, Inc.

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