Size: 28" x 25"

Medium: Ebonized walnut, brass

When I met the Allen Roehrs family, they each shared their experiences of becoming parents to a son with Down syndrome. Jessica shared with me they have since had to advocate for their son, Everett, to be integrated in a system and society that sees him as less capable and pushes him and children with disabilities to the margins. This deprives these children of opportunities to grow and flourish and robs all those who would otherwise be around them of the joy, light, and impact of knowing and living with them. Jessica has worked to advocate for children with Down syndrome and disabilities in Albemarle county schools, serving as the Committee Chair of the Special Education Advisory Committee.

In this piece, dark, organic shapes form layers around a luminescent center, both reflecting its light and peeling away to reveal a bright core.

The diligence of this family to advocate justice for their son not only fights for his best, but for his light to reflect on and bring fullness to everyone around him. His integration in a classroom plants seeds of justice and knowing in the hearts of all of the children he is surrounded by, which on the most fundamental level moves society to shed layers of learned assumption and separation and to embrace wholeness and justice.