Davian Chester of Columbus, Georgia, felt something was missing on the June 19 Google cover page so he created a Juneteenth Google Doodle to commemorate the African-American holiday.
Juneteenth, a Black American holiday, marks the celebration of the de facto end of slavery in the U.S.
Chester’s Twitter post of the holiday’s artwork went viral, amassing thousands of likes and retweets within days.
His Google doodle depicts two Black arms in shackles. The chain connecting them is broken, and the broken chain forms the word “Google.”
Google noticed.
In a tweet that he later deleted, the 26-year-old freelance illustrator and graphic designer said Google reached out to him with a job offer, The Grio reported. The tech giant has not yet confirmed offering Chester a job and it’s not clear if he will take it up.
Several people who commented on the tweet asked Google to consider hiring Chester as part of their Doodle design team.
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Google produces about 400 doodles each year to mark key events and famous personalities with up to 100 of them interactive or moving, according to Reuters. Google illustrators can take at least three months to perfect a design.
Chester first started drawing in the fourth and fifth grade. At first, his subjects were his favorite comic book heroes. Now his work consists mainly of social commentary including the experiences Black men and women have in America. Others address society’s standards of beauty, Columbus Ledger-Enquirer reported.
Chester’s work was honored with a billboard on 13th Street in Columbus that displayed him on one side and his viral Juneteenth image on the other.
The billboard was sponsored by a few locals who donated money to have it displayed on a digital board, according to ABC-affiliate WTVM.
“I feel it’s very important for us to know as much as we can about our ancestors,” Chesters told The Grio. “So I feel Juneteenth is already something that isn’t being spread across as much as it should be.”
