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Before Freddy Gray, and before Missouri felt the pain of the Ferguson,
a tradgedy happened in Kansas City Missouri. In the back yard of
our homes and in the hub of the Kansas City commerce a life was
taken, a son was taken, a father was taken, Ryan Stokes became
yet another fallen angel to the Kanas City Police department.
False accusations and assumptions based on cultural associations
contributed to the loss of a precious life. Situations like this raise
questions of character, safetey, and social awareness leaving you
to ask
What can I know more of so that there will be no more unecessary
police shootings and justified murders?

Utilizing design and fiber arts, a conversation in the Kansas City

community about social injustices can occur. Remembering Ryan
is an effort to establish restorative justice to a family that has had
thier loved ones name become another tally on the Black lives lost
list. But Ryan is more than a tally. People have the power to care
and stop injustices from occuring in the future.

LOOKING TO THE PAST

RESTORATIVE JUSTICE
noun
a system of criminal justice that focuses on the rehabilitation of
offenders through reconciliation with victims and the community
at large.

IT IS NOT A RACIAL
PROBLEM, ITS A PROBLEM
OF WHETHER OR NOT YOU
ARE WILLING TO LOOK
AT YOUR LIFE AND BE
RESPONSIBLE FOR IT, AND
THEN BEGIN OT CHANGE IT.
JAMES BALDWIN
3 steps of restorative Justice as told by THE CENTRE FOR JUSTICE & RECONCILLIATION
(1) REPAIR: crime causes harm & justice requires repairing that harm;
(2) ENCOUNTER: the best way to determine how to do that is to have the parties decide together;
(3) TRANSFORMATION: this can cause fundamental changes in people, relationships &communities.

James Baldwin was a prolific

writer

Emory Douglas was the

VOICING OPINIONS THROUGH CREATIVITY MAKES

YOUR VOICE STRONGER, YOUR COMPASSION DEEPER
AND YOUR QUEST FOR JUSTICE MORE INFINITE.

How can an design and fiber arts

come together to make positive
impact and even more, positive
change? Betsy Greer has been
the example of this practice, utilizing a practice that is defined as
a way of looking at life where voicing opinions through creativity
makes your voice stronger, your compassion deeper and your
quest for justice more infinite. This idea creates the form of what
is Craftivism. Greer has come to be known as the GODMOTHER OF
CRAFTIVISM. This idea has inspired REMMBERING RYAN and has helped
shape the project to be the most impactful.In 2014, Craftivism:
The Art of Craft and Activism, an anthology of 33 distinct craftivist
voices from around the world, was published by Arsenal Pulp. By
showing how different people interpret the construct of craftivism,
this book also works towards helping others use their own unique
talents as a force for good. The crafts of visual communication and
the tactilty of fiber arts combines two powers to make the voice of
the cause even stronger.

what happened to it, but in an irrational moment turned to Ryans

friend and accused him of taking his phone. This accusation was
rejected forcefully, and the drunk mans friends began to push and
shove Ryans friend.

I KNEW MY SON WAS SPECIAL, BUT I HAD NO IDEA

HOW MANY OTHERS HAD BEEN TOUCHED BY HIM
WHO WAS RYAN?
On August 2, 2013 I dragged myself out of bed, slipped on my
blue dress, which Ryan loved and went to the Zion Grove Baptist
Church to say good bye to my only son. His name was Ryan Stokes.
He was 24 years old. I had devoted 24 years of my life to his growth
and development. I was proud of the man Ryan had become. I
knew my son was special, but I had no idea how many others
had been touched by him, until I arrived at the church that day.
The sanctuary was filled with family and friends, neighbors and
customers, extended families and people Ryan had helped in some
way or another. Those who could not get seats stood in the back,
and those who could not get into the church, stood in the heat and
listened through the open windows.
I spent 24 years watching over my son, teaching him, worrying
about him, and loving him. I attended 100s of ball games, teacher
conferences, graduations and celebrations of his achievements. I
worked side by side with mothers of his friends, so I knew where he
was and what he was doing. Ryan made it easy because he loved
to play basketball and he and his friends played every minute they
could, wherever they found a court and a competitor. I had worked
to hard to beat the streets and I had won.

Ryan was respected by his peers and by his teachers. He was a

leader at home and in his community. At 18, he graduated from
Southeast High School and then chose to stay home and go to work
to help our family. He took his step-father to therapy, he picked his
nephew up from school and worked every day next to his father
in the dry cleaning business. He looked forward to being a small
business owner in our community.
Eighteen months before Ryans death, he and Brittany Lee
welcomed a beautiful baby girl into the world. Ryan wanted a family,
and he felt he was financially and emotionally ready to start his own
family. He was devoted to his new baby, and to Brittany. He looked
forward to the future, and to spending as much time as possible
with Neriah.
On July 28, 2013 when Ryan finished work, got his dad home and
after we played games on the computer, I watched him walk out the
door to hang out with his friends. He was happy. Never in a million
years did I think that I would never see him walk back in the front
door. That is the night my life changed.
My son and his friends went to the Power & Light District to hang
out. To look for friends and to have some laughs. At the close of
the night, as the crowds poured out onto the sidewalks a drunk 21
year old man realized he did not have his phone. He did not know

shot in the chest, but that the bullets had torn through his lower
back. We were furious.

The last image of my son is him standing between the two groups
urging calm. Officer Villiafain, who was standing nearby did not
ask questions --instead he sprayed the people on the corner with
pepper spray, and told the group to go home. Ryan and other young
men jogged across the intersection to get away from the spray and
to comply with the clear message to go home. Ryans friend had
pepper spray in his eyes, and he handed his car keys to Ryan so
Ryan could get his car and pick him up.

Several weeks later the case was taken to the grand jury and they
met to hear the case in secret. We do not know what they were told,
but if they were told what the police told the press then they were
uninformed when they chose not to indict the officer. The KCPD
had trained the Grand Jury before this case was presented about
the reality of officer involved shootings from the point of view of
the police. The grand jurors had no counter-narrative or expertise
to rely on other than their police training, and since this education
has been put in place no KCPD officer who has used deadly force
against a citizen of our city has been indicted.

Ryan began to run up the hill to the parking lot which was a block
and a half away. I wished he had not run. I wish the officer did
not look at the act of running as evidence that my son was a bad
man. As Ryan headed to the parking lot to get the car, the drunk
man walked up to Officer Villiafain and complained that the black
guys had taken his phone. Villifain walks with the man across the
intersection, in no particular hurry, and then summons officers to
join him on a pedestrian check.

A year later, Officer Thompson and his partner Officer Jones

were given medals for shooting my unarmed son. This was such
a betrayal and at that point I knew I could no longer be silent. I
needed to stand up for Ryan and tell his story and try to make a
difference so that another family would not experience the unjust
murder of their innocent child. I do not want any other family to
experience the pain of having the police lie to the community and
to our family about their child.

The officers did not yell for Ryan to stop as he headed up 13th
Street. If they had asked him to stop and talk Ryan, my son would
have stopped and talked with them. Ryan had not done anything
wrong. He was just trying to get to the car.

California has passed a bill to ban grand juries in cases in which

police have used deadly force against a citizen. Missouri needs to
enact the same legislation to protect our sons and daughters, to
hold police accountable and to return some level of confidence in
the system.

As Villifain headed up the street he radioed that he was in foot

pursuit of a suspect. No other information was provided. Less then
20 seconds after Villifains dispatch my son lay dying on the parking
lot, shot from behind by a cop entering the lot from opposite side
of the bike cops.
As the desk cop fired his weapon the officers yelled watch your
cross fire man and then they asked if man that was shot was
armed. The first officer to reach my son found that Ryan was in
fact unarmed, and critically wounded. The police chased witnesses
away from the scene, instead of taking their names and inviting
them to come to the station to give a statement. Many people who
were near the fatal shooting were not given the opportunity to give
accounts of what they saw or heard.
When the detectives came to my home the next evening they told
Ryans father and me that our son had held a gun, that he pointed
it at the officers, and refused to drop when commands were given,
forcing the officer to shoot him in the chest. The person they
described was a thug, and my son was not a thug. My son was a
law abiding citizen, and respectful to authority. We were confused,
and doubted the story the police were telling us. Our doubts were
confirmed, when the funeral director told us our son had not been

Do not let other families suffer as we have suffered. Please re-open

this case and hold the officers involved in Ryans death accountable.

THE TOUCHPOINTS

finish

start
touchpoint purpose
point of relationship
mental physical
touchpoint owner
touchpoints

educate/begin conversation

conversation in community

create change locally

intital draw to experience

learn about symbols

create relationship/coversation with Ryans story

create the shirt

be shocked by learnt knowledge

see large wall of visuals

become persuaded to make a difference

become aquianted with petition

artist

artist

social media campaign

printing event

act on vision

artist & viewer

shirts

sustain vision

feels need to stand up for similar causes

attends future events

feel emporwering
participate in protest

artist & viewer

Petition

viewer

SILENT PROTEST

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Zita Cobb; a Canadian businesswoman and social entrepreneur once

said, Knowledge is experiential. What you get in social media or what
you go online to get is information. Its not knowledge. We have to
be careful to distinguish between the two.To begin this process it
was important to distinguish between knowlege and information. The
multiple step i an attempt to breakdown the journey from information
to knowledge. Step one is a SOCIAL MEDIA CAMPAIGN that will highlight
specific event from Ryans life but also funcitoning as a invite to
the PRINTING EVENT. At this event is when knowledge will truly start
developing. Personal connections will develp and so wil

Zita Cobb; a Canadian businesswoman and social entrepreneur once

said, Knowledge is experiential. What you get in social media or what
you go online to get is information. Its not knowledge. We have to
be careful to distinguish between the two.To begin this process it
was important to distinguish between knowlege and information. The
multiple step i an attempt to breakdown the journey from kinformation
to knowledge. Step one as the social media campaign with information
about a printing event to then

Zita Cobb; a Canadian businesswoman and social entrepreneur once

said, Knowledge is experiential. What you get in social media or what
you go online to get is information. Its not knowledge. We have to
be careful to distinguish between the two.To begin this process it
was important to distinguish between knowlege and information. The
multiple step i an attempt to breakdown the journey from kinformation
to knowledge. Step one as the social media campaign with information
about a printing event to then

APPENDIX