George Floyd Mural in Denver by Thomas “Detour” Evans and Hiero Veiga. Help fund their #spraytheirname tour https://gf.me/u/x9ut5b :: Photo by Alison Stanfield/Art Business Success (artwork and photo used with permission)
Since the killing of George Floyd in May, on the heels of the havoc wrought by Covid-19 on vulnerable communities, I’ve been sad, sober, humbled, and motivated to learn more about the issues. As a private citizen, small business owner, and artist who works with the public, I stand with the #BlackLivesMatter movement and related efforts to end systemic and institutional racism.
As an artist, I have a platform to catalyze conversation and change. With the world on fire, I don’t feel that I have the luxury of isolating in the studio. These enormous challenges need all of us to get in the ring to make this world a better place.
Racism hurts us all. It’s been eye-opening to learn how silence is part of the problem—that by not saying and doing things to challenge the status quo, we are colluding with racism. Silence and ‘neutrality’ are damaging. Being a ‘nice white person’ with friends/partners/colleagues of color is not the same as taking action to end inequity (regardless of who we know) or if we use relational proximity to discourage truthful exchange.
If you are awakening to the painful realization that as white people, we are by default swimming in a sea of white privilege that blinds us to our continuum of racism, I invite you to learn with me how to move from ignorance to action that helps end inequity.
Below are resources—arts-related and otherwise—that I encourage you to explore (books are affiliate links). Thanks to the effort of countless BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and people of color) who have been doing this work for ages, there are a plethora of antiracism resources elsewhere. Choose one thing, start, act, rinse, repeat.
Learn
(check here for updates)
Scene on Radio. A groundbreaking podcast from the Center for Documentary Studies at Duke University, with each season addressing one theme in depth. Start with Season 2: Seeing White, and Season 4: The Land That Never Has Been Yet.
White Fragility Why It's So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism by Robin DeAngelo, Ph.D. is a frank discussion of how easy it is to lose white people in a conversation about racism and how to do it better. If you are new to this idea, START HERE.
Brené Brown podcast interview with Ibram X. Kendi, Director of the Antiracist Research and Policy Center at American University. Also, Kendi’s book How to Be an Antiracist.
The Next Question Show by Austin Channing Brown. Interviews with thought leaders on social justice in the US. Also her book I’m Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness.
The Water Dancer by Ta-Nehisi Coates is a breathtaking work of historical fiction about slavery, the underground railroad, surprising allies, and dignity. Also, his non-fiction book Between the World and Me.
Essence of a History, an Art21.org visual playlist of artists who explore the Black narrative in their work.
Why I No Longer Talk To White People About Race by Reni Eddo-Lodge. An accounting of the UK’s struggle with racism.
Eloquent Rage A Black Feminist Discovers Her Superpower by Brittney Cooper, Ph.D.
Dissect by Cole Cushna is a serialized music podcast that examines a single album per season, one song per episode. Start wtih Season 5: DAMN (Kendrick Lamar’s Pulitzer Prize-winning album), and the current season: Lemonade by Beyoncé.
Hope in the Dark by Rebecca Solnit was a game-changer last year when I felt caught between rage and despair related to social justice issues during my degree research. It catalyzed my collaborative project, A Gathering of Unasked Possibility (see below), with colleague and friend Judith Rodgers in 2019.
Active Hope How to Face the Mess We're in without Going Crazy by Joanna Macy offers a practical approach that strengthens our capacity to face disturbing information and respond with unexpected resilience and creative power.
The Impossible Will Take a Little While by Paul Loeb is packed with inspiring stories of leadership on the front line of social change for the long haul.
Act
(check here for updates)
Learning alone will not be enough.
There are lots of ways we can act to be an antiracist. Places to start: 75 Things White People Can Do For Racial Justice
Support emerging black artists, thinkers, and change-makers and a special shout-out to a fave arts hub in my hometown Washington, DC: Pyramid Atlantic’s We Stand Project
For now, I’m focused on US voter enfranchisement via Fair Fight and Vote Save America, as well as the art-related projects below that collaborate with and support BIPOC on the journey.
Create
Residency of Repair is a project I started last year in response to explore repair and care related to contemporary forms of precarity—social justice, economic, climate, and democracy. I am developing this idea further in the coming months through symposium, residencies, and exhibition opportunities.
A Gathering of Unasked Possibility is a project launched last year that centers artists, researchers, and activists who interrogate contemporary precarity through their practices. The next iteration of Unasked is underway with an emphasis on how to create an inclusive and diverse project moving forward.
Two artist-led projects that generate opportunity and income for vulnerable and precarious populations: Handle With Care Support for Refugees and Artist Support Pledge.