Hello Family,
I hope this message finds you safely. I am reaching out with sincerity and anx. As a Black Femme and artist I am filled with mixed emotions and confused perspectives on society's new awakening to the genocide of Black American Lives. I am fully aware that with this new momentum and focus on the safety and re-imagining of Black futures - corporate entities, government agencies as well as institutions (health, education, religious, fashion, entertainment etc.) will be making room for "initial change."
During this moment where the world has become aware, calling out and attempting to practice revised sensibility towards human life, I do not believe that, as Black Creatives, we are fighting the "same fight" as everyone else - I feel our responses and our fight are purely our own. More importantly the agency we currently are able to access due to social media and virtual existences aid us in foresting our own system of keeping access to the truth and essence of our culture.
Dismantling white supremacy, dealing with the pressures of white guilt and the anxiety of white rage is exhausting and should not be our focus. Those are pre-existing issues and the conditions of pressure that created our current conversations. Moreover, the result of eurocentric ideals of hegemony should be uprooted by those becoming enlightened, those descendants who are standing by our sides claiming allyship.
With all this said, I am working with Culture Push, for an hashtag campaign built to jam racist algorithms. I would like to amplify our voices and create a network within the structures that exist. The hashtag #BlackArtistChallenge will be a catalyst for Black Artists to respond with what they feel in this moment. By captioning with this shared hashtag – We will transmit these shared ideologies via all social media channels. Inspired by "challenge" culture I hope to have a snowball effect amongst our community, creating a visual database and a bookmark of the movement.
There are no rules. If you feel inspired to take part - my initial post will be shared via my @artschoolscammer IG page as well as shared via the @culturepusher IG page. Please feel free to share this message with anyone who you think would want to participate. Thank you for your time, consideration and existence.
"The artist's role is to raise the consciousness of the people. To make them understand life, the world and themselves more completely." - Amiri Baraka's words
Sending Light,
Denae Howard aka Artschoolscammer