Passionate artist Jonathan harris was not afraid of Capture the essence of the opposing views surrounding the “critical race theory” debate.

The painter and self-taught curator wanted to reflect on the division of the country on the concepts surrounding the CRT taught in schools. Since its first exhibition at the Irwin House Gallery in Detroit, the painting has gone viral. The exhibition is titled TRIPTYCH: Stronger together.

The thought-provoking print shows a nonspecific white man rolling white paint over images of Martin Luther King, Harriet Tubman and Malcolm X, as featured on his Instagram page.

Only 250 personally signed prints were available for purchase.

Although the painting does not specifically include a flag, the white person wears a red shirt with blue highlights and several small white stars on his sleeve in a possible nod to an American flag.

The painting serves as a visually more pleasing representation of the whitewashing of black history. Since going online, the image has gone viral and has sparked widespread conversation about the issues of race and social justice represented in the artwork.

“It made me feel good to see people take the time to review my art,” Harris Recount Blac Media. “The thoughts of people who disagree are also important, because I want to be able to understand why people think their own way. “

Debates around CRT have come to the fore in recent years following Nikole Hannah jones New York Times piece “The 1619 project”. The far right has raised opposition to notions of CRT because it wants to bring America’s history of racism and social injustice to the fore more when teaching the history of the country.

Many conservative states have expressed opposition to implementing CRT in their schools, with former President Donald Trump even going so far as to threaten to withhold federal funding from states that have added forms of CRT to their curriculum.

“Eventually we’ll get here,” said Harris.

“Erase Malcolm X, MLK, Harriet Tubman and all of our change makers. It is a dialogue. It’s a think piece and now I guess it’s a talk piece because people really talk.

The work in limited edition sold for $ 100 and is already sold out online.