Striking art inspired by Ferguson

Michael Brown was shot and killed by a police officer on August 9 in Ferguson, Missouri. He was unarmed, and his death immediately sparked a national conversation about racial injustice and police brutality in America.

It's easy to forget, in the midst of all the news and controversy, that Michael Brown was also a friend, a student, and a son. He was a person.

In response to the tragedy, artist and journalist Shirin-Banou Barghi created a series of graphics to illustrate the last words of Brown and 10 other young men who were killed unjustly.

"I created these images to raise awareness about racist police violence in America and as an expression of solidarity," Barghi wrote on Twitter, "I experienced police brutality in my native Iran, and the struggle here to confront that violence resonated with me."

Shirin-Banou Barghi

Michael Brown was shot by a police officer in Ferguson, Missouri, on August 9. He was 18 years old and unarmed.

(Shirin-Banou Barghi)

Kimani Gray was 16 years old when he was shot and killed by New York City police officers in East Flatbush, Brooklyn, on March 9, 2013.

(Shirin-Banou Barghi)

Kendrec McDade was shot by police officers in Pasadena, California. He was 19 years old and unarmed.

(Shirin-Banou Barghi)

Oscar Grant was shot by a police officer in Oakland, California, when the officer mistook his .40 caliber handgun for a taser.

(Shirin-Banou Barghi)

Trayvon Martin was 17 when he was shot on a neighborhood street in Sanford, Florida.

To see the rest of Barghi's #lastwords images, visit her gallery on Facebook.

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