On tonight’s “Blank Canvas” we invite the Smith family to speak about THE BRENTON STORY. Brenton Smith, was 17-years old in 2009, when he was shot dead by the police while walking on Village Road, apparently mistaken for another youth who had committed a robbery. His family: grandmother Shirley, father Hector and brother Bernard, are committed to maintaining the memory of a bright young man who was first and foremost innocent, as well as loyal, peaceful, loving, kind, and many other attributes.
The family does not want to only remember their grandson, son, and brother, but would like that other people know who the real Brenton was, thereby addressing the issue of police violence and profiling within our communities. Working with artists, led by Tim Nottage, a public school teacher who works with at-risk youth, and joined by Rosie Petit, among many others, they created an art exhibition, “Through our Eyes” as each artist got to know the real Brenton and created tributes to him through their work.
The traveling exhibition was staged previously at the Central Bank of The Bahamas and now opens on Thursday, September 12th, at the Harry C. Moore Library at the University of The Bahamas at 6:00 p.m.
Blank Canvas airs every Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. on 96.9FM Guardian Talk Radio.
