Five Lit Girls (2019) Original These women are not background—they

These women are not background—they are the moment

not to be removed

whispers of ancestry

The title nods to the emotional tension echoed in Benson’s Masquerade—the idea of moving through the world behind carefully held faces

The picture shows four girls blending in as one with their urban community

Five Lit Girls (2019) Original These women are not background—they"Five Lit Girls" in a dynamic urban neighborhood where they are merged as one with their environment, i. e., their culture, their history, and their futures. The girls are rooted in the historical experience of African American people both distinct and enormously influential on American culture as a whole.