16 Squares : Government-Assisted Family Separation from a Mother's Perspective

Sixteen squares together tell a story in etched text and footprints of a mother’s confrontation with authorities who are there to separate her from her child and take one or both of them from their native place. From at least the beginnings of slavery in this country through the treatment of immigrants within our borders today, people have been and continue to be separated and uprooted as those in control give greater weight to their political and economic interests than to the bonds of family and home. These bonds are heartbreakingly severed all too frequently. This piece questions why we have allowed that to continue.