The inspiration for this piece, The Incomparable Ms. Joanne Wilson, was Gordon Parks' book Segregation. In particular, there is a quote in the book that really sparked one of the reasons for this series, Las Caras Lindas, which features people from the African diaspora.”Preeminently, he set out to challenge the myths of difference and aberrance that underwrote racism-disbelief that allowed one group to declare its superiority over another by capriciously ascribing to it negative traits, abnormalities, and pathologies. Nowhere is this challenge more effective than in Parks’ photograph of Joanne Wilson.” In the book, Ms. Wilson mentioned that she had wished that Mr. Parks had let her fix the bra strap that was shown in the original photograph because she wanted to portray herself in a dignified way. I felt I could honor that by painting her this way.