Dr. Maxine Bryant: The Golden Repair

The "Lion" is a man is often painted as absent, dangerous, or broken. The Lion’s story deals in mugshots and statistics. Dr. Maxine Bryant, Savannah’s modern-day Griot, teaches us a different truth: Until the lion tells the story, the hunter will always be the hero. This painting is the Lion telling the story. Here, in the quiet sanctuary of a Savannah home, we see the narrative reclaimed. The geometric ciphers in the background remind us of the Congolese Cosmograms hidden in the floorboards of Savannah’s First African Baptist Church—symbols of a faith that survived the suffocating weight of history. The woman stands as the Weaver. Her hands are not just styling hair; they are performing the act of Reintegration. Dr. Bryant has spent her life advocating for "returning citizens"—men and women coming home from the justice system who are often met with closed doors. She teaches that true justice is not punishment, but restoration. In this image, the woman is restoring the man’s crown, soothing the "primal wound" of separation with the intimacy of touch. And the man? He is defying every stereotype the world has tried to place upon him. He is not "hard." He is a vessel of tenderness, feeding the next generation. He is the father who stayed, the provider who nurtures. This image captures what Dr. Bryant calls "Finding Peoples." It is the moment we stop believing the lies told about us and start tending to one another. It is the realization that the most revolutionary act we can perform in the face of systemic struggle is not just to fight, but to love.