This year, President Obama will have a bit of Western New York under the Christmas tree. That's because he's receiving a gift made by a Buffalo man whose life story touched former First Lady Michelle Obama.
Valentino Dixon was behind bars for 27 years for a crime he didn't commit. It was the artwork he drew while locked up that brought attention to his case and led to his exoneration. His story made national headlines and has now caught the attention of former First Lady Michelle Obama.
"It blew me away because you don't expect this," Dixon said.
A month ago, President Obama's office reached out to the artist saying Mrs. Obama came across his story on HBO's Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel. The official from the office mentioned she found his story powerful and was interested in commissioning Dixon to draw a golf course as a surprise gift for her husband.
"My assistant let me know that she reached out. I was actually in the bank at the time and I said, ‘you sure?’ and she tracked the URL and it went to her and she was super excited and I was super excited," Dixon said.
Dixon sent Mrs. Obama some pictures of a 20x30 drawing he made of the famous Augusta National Golf Club and that was the one she decided on. But that wasn't the only thing she requested. Dixon was asked to make a video showing what he's been through so she can show it to President Obama. The video shares the moment Dixon walked out into public as a free man and scenes from his Draw and Talk with Me YouTube series, where he teaches people how to draw as they converse about life.
"I've asked Michelle and Barack and the family to come do a Draw and Talk with Me,” he said. “Hopefully that'll happen."
Dixon hopes to one day meet the Obamas, and now he's a step closer to that wish.
"This is not just a story of wrongful imprisonment, this is a story of redemption. This is a story of faith and I just try to be an example to the world that it's not how you start but how you finish," Dixon said.
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December 25, 2020 at 10:57PM
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