Liz Miller here, from a small town in Frederick County called Middletown, founded 1767. It's a small historic farming town. There's a main street, a couple restaurants, some gas stations, school, a neighborhood and the rest is farmland, where I live. I'm not a farm kid persay, I just live in the middle of a field between two farms. Sometimes there may also be cows in my driveway if they get curious enough.
My high school was 98% white. I never had any "black friends" and it probably explains why I'm blundering over racial lines and feel really uncomfortable with the talk of racial tension. It makes me feel like I've done something wrong, like it's my fault that I never had much contact with kids of other racial backgrounds. Even now, writing this, I keep questioning if my wording is offensive. It's very new and weird for me to have to question at every turn if this is racially offensive and having to hear about the segregation in this city over and over every week.
On some notes I have issues connecting with the people we're meeting every week. I hear their stories, I make art about it, and I sympathize but I came from an upper middle class family. The most trouble we had was when we were having our house built and had to stay in a camping park for a week or two. I just don't know how to fully help them, I feel. I want to know more but at the same time I feel awkward about connecting with them.
At the moment I don't know how to describe my art making process. It's so radically different now than it was just a month or two ago. I'll update the world when I know what the heck I'm doing.
-Liz Miller
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