Toronto Raptors, Say It Loud: Interview with Artist Mark Stoddart

Mark Stoddart, an innovative UK-born Torontonian has had a deep creative connection to global, political, and revolutionary movements since high school. A humble and natural leader, his messaging has consistently contributed to conversations in support of Black lives, cultural awareness, and social justice. His design acumen and skillful ability to translate history into art has him now, once again, with his vision focused on the development of his city's identity. He has again positioned himself to interrogate social injustices and systemic inequities through his creations.

In the current state of unrest, and through his love for basketball, Mark has continued to stand by and stand up for everything he believes in, and has communicated his social commitment through a new series of designs on display by Toronto Raptors players. Released earlier this month, the unique images, co-designed by Mark and Toronto-based photographic artist Adeyemi Adegbesan were launched at the first game in the Orlando, Florida "bubble," (at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex) with players' pre-game attire displaying messages of empowerment and solidarity.

Before the game, these images and words were broadcast and also circulated through Raptors' social media:

Mark, in addition to being an artist, is also a seasoned basketball player, so this particular moment speaks directly to a combination of his passions. Through an innate love of sports, Mark developed into an exceptional athlete and played basketball for the Cedarbrae Collegiate Institute team. After high school, Mark was referred to play for the Sheridan College basketball team. In the 1989-1990 season, Sheridan was recognized as the best college team in the country. Champions.

Being a young athlete was not without its challenges. When Mark realized his studies were being sacrificed, he came to a point where basketball practices, games, and his full commitment to the team were getting in the way of his academic success. The path he inevitably chose led him to be the conscientious artist he is today. He decided to fulfil his graduation requirements, and focus on his career as a graphic artist and designer.

Post-graduation, he worked for a textile and printing company as a graphic designer, and from there has been evolving and approaching the industry from a variety of angles. Countless installations, projects, and exhibits have marked his career with significance and clarified his purpose. Basketball has continued to be a recurring theme in his work, along with social commentary, and Black activism.

Mark's first entrepreneurial venture (creating a t-shirt line in high school), evolved over the years into what is now a poignant Toronto brand: LIWI68. We spoke with Mark about his designs, his legacy, his role in the current Toronto Raptors story, and how a lifetime of social awareness and a passion for basketball have culminated again (quite powerfully) in this moment.

KYA PUBLISHING: Earlier this month, I was so excited to hear that you had the opportunity to co-design the Raptors' Black Lives Matter tribute apparel, as they entered the renewed NBA season in Orlando. I saw the pre-game highlights of your work on TV, and the social media features, and I was inspired. You are always doing your part to move our local culture and our collective consciousnesses forward. How do you feel, in this heavy and significant cultural moment...particularly where police brutality is concerned?

"To be honest, I'm numb to this now. It's almost like the same ****, different toilet. Same pattern. History doesn't repeat itself; people repeat history. At this point, we need to make some real change. Literally. Internally. Within the systems, to break them. This system was made for us [as Black people] to be oppressed, so we have to break that machine in some capacity, and I think the spotlight is now shining on global change. We have to break the machines, from within. We have to reevaluate them, and break them."

KYA PUBLISHING: I couldn't watch the full video of the shooting of Jacob Blake. On Monday morning, I woke up and started to see certain conversations ignited online again, and I was afraid of what had happened. Again.

"I didn't watch the video. It's too much trauma. I can't take that. We really have to figure out why the police force isn't doing their job correctly. It has to change: hence why these protests are happening. Hence why four years ago on September 1, Colin Kaepernick stood up in protest of police brutality. Hence why the athletes at the 1968 Olympics made that powerful gesture. Society has changed in many ways...and in many other ways, we haven't changed at all. This is the moment that we have to make a real honest breaking point."

KYA PUBLISHING: Dr. John Carlos--your mentor and business partner--protested boldly in 1968, and here you are now in 2020 taking part in a similar process...your own way. 

"The Raptors wearing these shirts and presenting these designs starts a conversation. I'm not saying it's going to solve the problem, but at least it starts a conversation. Being selected, and being allowed to take part in this conversation...I'm thankful. I'm thankful that they recognize my contribution, but I'm also thankful to be able to help the team."

KYA PUBLISHING: Years have passed. So many protests, and performative gestures. How do you feel about this particular moment, in this particular year? Do you have hope for real change?

"You have to feel optimism. If you don't...then why are we here? To be woke or socially conscious, everybody has their entry point to this movement. I welcome people at this stage now to be more aware of who they are, why they're doing what they're doing, and to stay committed. My analogy is like going to the gym, and setting a New Year's Resolution...but this is a workout for social change. You have to ask yourself, how long are you going to be in the workout? How long are you going to prepare yourself for this? It's when you get back on, or when you find a personal trainer or mentor to help you through.

I encourage everyone, to stay through this fight. It's going to be tough, and you're going to change a lot. But the work has to continue. I think that being consistently passionate about change helps, and you don't need to speak about it...you just need to do the work." 

KYA PUBLISHING: For you right now, and throughout your career...what does that work look like?

"I've collaborated with Dr. John Carlos, for ten years now. I've met with Colin Kaepernick. I'm building this narrative with my work, which continues now with the Raptors. Creating a spotlight on an issue, once again. If you saw me when I was 19/20 years old as a young entrepreneur, and see me now...you'll see that I'm doing the same thing as an artist and creator: developing positive messaging, and reinforcing that. I've been consistent, and that's why I'm asking others to just also do their part. Help. What more can we do? That's the question for all of us. We're in a situation now where we all have to check ourselves.

With the Raptors we are documenting history. As much as we're having this conversation now, what happens when things get quiet? What do we become socially aware of? Do we have to wait until February? This is now an every-day-all-day situation. All the time. We have to be aware of our surroundings as people, and aware of how we can impact people. Not just Black people, but other people as well. And the youth."

KYA PUBLISHING: You mention the youth, and we can now look back at the past thirty or forty years in Toronto and see how it has changed. How the Black identity has changed, and the spirit of Black Canadians in our city. How do you feel about the evolution of our demographic, specifically?

"Black Toronto? Well, we definitely have a stronger identity now. We've always been here, but now we have a specific and unique identity, particularly with the 'We the North' statement that the Raptors coined. I think the evolution of our culture is a combination of all aspects through the arts, music, visual arts, movies, actors...we've been changing the world from time. Now sports have just put us on another platform, establishing that we are here. And then having the Raptors win last year...the city and this country truly can't be talked about in the same way. As much as they don't like to talk about us, these days they don't have any choice in these conversation. Even in terms of Masai, we are in the middle of this conversation, unfortunately. But we're here."

KYA PUBLISHING: Masai is a force. Watching the video of him being disrespected was painful, in many ways.

"Exactly. An NBA President of Basketball Operations straight from the Continent. He's manifested one of his biggest dreams, throughout all of life's hardships. When you watch the Giants of Africa documentary, it's a beautiful story. And for that one second, for that moment to be taken away from him...as successful as he is, they still only saw him as a Black man. Period. We shouldn't have to rely on footage to make us angry, because this **** happens to us all the time.

Masai purchased two of my pieces. He supported me, and bought two of my art pieces for his office, and that's amazing to me. He supports Black businesses. So to be a part of this, to help his vision for what he wants for his team and organization to stand for...to be a part of Black Lives Matter, and be in this moment. It means a lot."

KYA PUBLISHING: Essentially, you haven't changed your activities and your intentions...you are doing the same type of social activism now that you were doing as a young businessman, and you're doing it in a way that is still powerful, and still influential. How did you know this was the path your life should take?

"I was always intrigued about social change, from a young age--that was always a part of me. Picking up the books of Malcolm X or Marcus Garvey, and just being influenced by Stokely Carmichael and others. For example, one of my college assignments was to do a live sketch of people that we see. I went to see Stokely speak at the University of Toronto, and did a live sketch of him there. When I asked him to sign it, he wrote: 'Everything for the people. Even art.' Just to know that he wrote that, and knowing that I have a contribution to give the world through storytelling...back then it was surreal. It still is."

Once a part of a collective of creative friends called The Brotherhood, Mark and his crew developed controversial t-shirts in the late 80's/early 90's, that didn't shy away from strong messaging. Shirts that people had to think twice about wearing. For example, one shirt read: "Support your local police...beat yourself up" with "Serve and protect, and break a brother's neck" written on the back. Mark recalled the police murder of Michael Wade Lawson in Toronto in 1988, and protests on Yonge Street in 1992, in addition to the outrage of over the Rodney King beating in Los Angeles in 1991. During this era, the energy in the city of Toronto was tense, and Mark wanted to be a part of the movement and empower the community to make statements, and inspire solidarity.

The messages for the pre-game t-shirts, seen by Raptors players on-screen and across social media this month, included: I Am Human, Rest in Power, and a fist that contained the names of the many Black souls fallen at the hands of police brutality. At present, the shirts are currently available only for player wear, but surely if interested Raptors fans sent requests to the Raptors organization, they would consider making these available to the public as well.

KYA PUBLISHING: What are your thoughts on the NBA teams and players boycotting playoff games this week, in protest against the police shooting of Jacob Blake on Sunday?

"As players, they have a voice. They have to make the ultimate sacrifice, and hit the system financially. This is their window of speaking out. People will lose a lot of money, and advertising...because there won't be anything to watch. They're making a statement by saying: hear us!" 

KYA PUBLISHING: How do you feel about the unique position the Raptors are in right now, in this moment in social history and race relations?

"There are only a handful of Black Presidents in the League right now, so having Masai lead the Raptors is a bonus. Having the Coach of the Year in Nick Nurse is also a plus because Raptors have a spotlight because of their activities, and also because of what happened to Masai after the championship game. It's not a U.S. thing, or a Canadian thing at this point: it's optics. The Raptors have been making bold statements.

When they talk about this moment in the history books, the Raptors are already going to be at the forefront of this conversation. And a lot of that is because of Masai. He honours our African ancestors to the fullest degree, particularly through his love for Nelson Mandela. He's just the vessel for Madiba, at this point. Our team has international players from Serge to Gasol, and Siakam--from the continent of Africa, and an amalgamation of all countries. We're like the Benetton of the NBA."

KYA PUBLISHING: This particular group is special. They're focused. They are leaders.

"It's beautiful to see, when you're locked in to knowing there's a bigger purpose. You can see it with the Raptors. There's 'one aim, one goal' just like Marcus Garvey said. These guys have it. They have their objective, and they know what they have to do to get that chip.

This is a year of global change, and they had to adapt to it. They are adapting, and speaking to it. They're making the change by showing you that we're here!"

KYA PUBLISHING: So...what now? What do we do with the power of this moment? Right here in Toronto, right now?

"We have to support the people in this city. If we don't do that...we become nothing, as a community. We need a community. Really need a Black community where we can control our infrastructure so that we can actually do positive things, with a real community base. Black owned. We need to own more businesses, and property. When you own, that changes the dynamic. We have to be respected.

The power of this moment is that you have to stay consistent with what you're doing. If you're a person about change, then it comes from within. Knowing who you are, and researching why you're here. Think about your legacy. How are you going to make the world a better place, when you're gone? When you start figuring that out within yourself, you then extend that to the people who are closer to you. You form allies, and gain mobility. You connect with like-minded people.

Everybody has a different entry point in the struggle. When you find like-minded people, and bring them in, you start to work it out together. This is the workout of change. We have to keep building this. Keep finding more people, and get rid of the dead weight. Remove the people you don't need to be with anymore, because those form the small increments of change. Figure out the right people you want to be with in all aspects of your life.

The situation won't always be right, but we're on the same frequency level right now. We don't want to lose that. At the same time, you also have to inundate people with information and reminders, about Breonna Taylor, for example. And now about justice for Jacob Blake. We have to keep speaking the names of the people who have been impacted, and keep them in our consciousness. We have to speak all of this into existence. Every one of us."

KYA PUBLISHING: Tonight the players have boycotted games in the name of protest, and the Lakers and Clippers have reportedly boycotted the rest of the season. When the sun rises and another day unfolds...we'll find out what the season will look like. But in the event that the game goes on...I have to ask, how do you feel about the future of the Raptors? Are we leaving Orlando with another championship? Does that still matter, at this point?

"Yes, and yes. I just feel this would be a good closing to this...this year. This everything. Give us a back-to-back. A short back...but still ours. When people talk about what a crazy year of basketball this was, what happened from coronavirus to Black Lives Matter, we'll be in the history books. We will go down on the right side of history, too, in sports and in politics. Just like the demonstration in 1968 with Dr. Carlos, those moments are timeless. Just like Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf (former NBA player Chris Jackson) not standing for the Star-Spangled Banner in 1996. This was before Kaepernick, or anyone else. There have always been political statements in sports, and right now, the Toronto Raptors will be a part of this. With or without a full season, they have made their voices heard. Clearly.

Who knows how this is going to unfold by the end of the week, but at this point I'm thankful to know that I had a hand in assisting and designing this particular Raptors protest. This is our purpose. To be here--to leave your mark and your imprint. To ensure these moments are not forgotten. This is why we're here. In the words of Dr. Carlos: 'We live to make history'."

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Written by Stacey Marie Robinson for Kya Publishing's blog.