Milan Bolden-Morris, a Florida high school senior, completed a usual rite of passage by attending her school’s prom over the weekend. What made the 17-year-old stand out apart from the crowd was that her dress was inspired by Black Lives Matter and featured images of several figures central to the movement.
Bolden-Morris, who attends Cardinal Newman High School in West Palm Beach, Fla., wore a backless black, flowing dress with lace sleeves. On the front of the dress, an image of Trayvon Martin and the well-known hoodie photo was present. On the rest of the dress, images of Sandra Bland, Michael Brown, and others were also visible. Bolden-Morris posted the images of her dress to her Instagram page over the weekend, which have since gone viral.
“Yes I’m black. Yes I’m 17. Yes GOD is using me to convey a message that’s bigger than me,” wrote Bolden-Morris in a caption to her initial photo. The dress was designed by Florida and Atlanta-based designer Terrence Torrence, who teased the dress on his Instagram page ahead of Bolden-Morris’ big moment. In an interview with Essence, Torrence revealed it took him four days to make the design.
Next on the plate for Ms. Bolden-Morris is a commitment to join the Boston College women’s basketball team later this year.
Check out images of Milan Bolden-Morris’ Black Lives Matter-inspired prom dress in the images below and on the flip.
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Photo: Instagram
