Magnificently Willful
Magnificently Willful is seeking to honor the authentic existence amongst African Americans by celebrating the joys of Roebuck’s true self through her natural hair. The figure is placed in the center while being suspended upside down. By rotating the orientation of the figure, Roebuck depicts a celebration of allowing hair created from yarn to take its true shape. This orientation breathes life to Roebuck’s natural hair, it demands to be seen. The abundance of “hair” draping on, around, and on the floor of my piece creates a platform to celebrate our authentic hair. This tapestry-like-quilted work is about the triumph of fighting to be seen, while also appreciating and educating others on the different curl patterns that African Americans have.
​
Is there a such thing as belonging?
When society has made it
Impossible
For decades
Told us to hide our true nature
Disregarded our willfulness
Encouraged change
Within
When they don’t know the
Cost
The pain of concealing perfection
The loss of
Identity
But slowly
We have adapted
We have learned to disregard
The media
And allow
Our willfulness to shine
There is no controlling it
It is
Magnificent
It demands to be reconciled
For it shows our true nature
Shouting to be seen
To breathe
To zig-zag its
True coil
From Deserving to Denial
From Deserving to Denial, centering three portraits that are surrounded by a bed of flowers. In this piece Roebuck aims to reclaim agency from her struggles with her racial impostor syndrome and celebrating herworth as a biracial woman.
​
There is an emptiness
Festering within
The feeling of
Authenticity and
Belonging
Have vanished
The sense of
Identity is lost
They question
The right
To claim
They question
The right
To be seen
But they do not
Understand
That
They are part
Of the problem
The complication
Of seeing
And being seen
There is an
Emptiness
Within
For they
Do not
Understand
The pain
Or even
The loss
Of not
Having
The right
To seize
Who you
Are
For they
Only see
A color
And
Automatically
Assume
That
Is
Your identity