Richard Smith is a 25 year old artist from Long Beach, California who is affectionately known as Tauvaa.
On his latest project “Meauli Boy”, Tauvaa gives you a first person account of a young man who struggles to fit in, until finally embracing the fact that he stands out.
The story behind “Meauli Boy” is the tale of a half Black, half Samoan male growing up in a city where division amongst different races lead to dangerous conditions he had to face on a daily basis growing up in a gang infested city.
In Samoan culture, the term Meauli means “Black”, and being that he was looked at as different because of his mixed race by family and friends alike, identifies with the name “Meauli Boy”.