We've got unfinished business, you and me
As the philosopher said, “unfinished business always comes back to haunt you.” How about we put something to rest, while giving new life to something else?
This was the collage I’d hoped you could bid on in March 2020, during the annual Artist Trust auction gala. But of course you couldn’t, because… COVID-19. However! Now you can bid on “Common Ground” at the online art auction! The kick-off party happens Thursday, April 8th.
As always, Artist Trust splits the final auction price with the artist who donated the piece; they fund their grants, workshops and other artist resources with their auction proceeds. Even if the pandemic has snuffed out your party mood, you can still donate in other ways — and your gift may help sustain the artists’ lives as well as their careers.
Emmett Till slept here
For Black History Month, you know what would be really cool? I’d love to see more cities preserving significant sites related to the Movement for Black Lives. Maybe city leaders across the country could follow Chicago’s recent example.
Chicago’s city council has granted landmark status to the apartment building where Emmett Till once lived, up until he was lynched in Mississippi in 1955. Breonna Taylor’s life deserves to be remembered too. The tragedy of Emmett’s murder launched the 1960s civil rights era; Black Lives Matter activists continue to demand justice for people like Breonna. You might remember a Kentucky grand jury refused to bring murder charges against the Louisville police officers who shot her as she slept.
Here’s the thing that really gets me: that grand jury announced its decision exactly 65 years after Emmett Till’s murderers were acquitted in Mississippi.
Breonna’s memorial has since been moved to the Roots 101 African American Museum in downtown Louisville. If you’re in a position to support them, please consider donating to help the museum preserve Breonna’s memorial. If Mississippi can memorialize 51 sites connected to Emmett’s death, and Chicago can commit to protecting one building from being torn down, it should be comparatively easy to establish one permanent museum exhibit in Kentucky.
Amped up to #amplifyBlackvoices
Whoa! Do you even know how many people and organizations are using their influence to amplify Black voices? This month, influential people and organizations are chasing Black artists like Brits following a cheese wheel downhill.
You probably know I’ve benefited from the attention, so… I might be a little biased.
There’s also:
YouTube’s “multiyear” $100 million fund to “center and amplify Black voices and perspectives”
Singer Halsey’s Black Creators Fund
Artist Trust’s list of Black-led arts and heritage organizations that you can support with your time and money
A ton of individuals, corporations and non-profits lending their social media to amplify Black voices. Ahem.
All right, I’ll bite (the hand currently feeding me). How long does the amplification last this time?
How many years in a YouTube “multiyear” commitment? Which specific Black creators benefit from the Halsey fund? Any social media takeover invites next year to artists with fewer than a thousand followers? Let’s act on this moment consistently — persistently — not just before and after Black History Month. Pace yourself. We’ll need your support in 2021 and 2022 and 2023…