On another walk around Baltimore, I came across another outside art exhibition like the Black Lives Matter Mural in Patterson Park in September. This time in Baltimore’s Fell Point to get out of the house for a bit and visit Sound Garden to browse some vinyl and old flicks. A trip well spent because I bought some cool new socks. But also set my eyes upon a beautiful exhibit at the How Great Thou Art Gallery worthy of a PrayForLove highlight on Doc’s Castle Media. Baltimore Mosaic Artist Loring Cornish creates I Can’t Breathe outside exhibition to bring attention to police brutality.
Last month, we were hit with the devastating news of Breonna Taylor’s verdict. And just like when I scroll my social feeds, days later, I strolled by a reminder, in person, that we’re still in the midst of a war with police policy and reform. I’m tired.
Cornish exhibit is a pause in time. It makes you think. I took a moment of silence before I visited the Sound Garden next door. I saw all the names of victims fallen by police brutality represented by burning candles just under the “I can’t fucking breathe” sign. George Floyd and Breonna Taylor’s pictures displayed large as day with words of frustration and “I will never understand” written in all caps all around them. This case is the loudest breakthrough we’ve had in recent years. Two pictures of Breonna Taylor stand directly along side the burning candles. The exhibit makes me upset. The build-up of all of this has gone on far too long. I don’t understand, either. So I pause to take it in.
The exhibit is getting quite the buzz as people share their experiences on their social media using the hashtag #LoringCornish. On Instagram, there are over 500+ shared posts of Loring Cornish’s exhibit.
Cornish had many other exhibitions focusing on race and police in previous years. In 2015 following the death of Freddie Gray, Cornish decorated a police box in Station North “to bring attention to police operating practices that have made millions of Americans uncomfortable.” He also received national attention for his Black “lynched” doll exhibition in response to Eric Gardner, Walter Scott, and Michael Brown. Cornish used his passion and talent to raise awareness of police brutality throughout the decade.
The How Great Thou Art Gallery is owned by Cornish and is the home to a plethora of beautiful creations made by the Mosaic artist himself. Check out more art at the Loring Cornish website.
“I will never understand,” either. Would you visit this exhibition? Leave your comments below.
We’re living in the foreshadowing of what really happened during the time of our ancestors. For two years, Texan slaves didn’t know they were actually freed by the Emancipation Proclamation in 1865. Today in 2020, we have the president of the United States taking credit for making the holiday famous in the midst of rescheduling his first 2020 presidential campaign in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Though there could be some truth to that statement for many Americans, Trump is not the reason why I know about Juneteenth and also many other people who are fortunate to be educated on the true history of the Emancipation Proclamation.
Juneteeth 2020 was more proactive because of the current social climate of our country. Since the death of George Floyd by the Minneapolis police department on Memorial day, daily protest bringing attention to police brutality and excessive force has remarkably surged throughout the nation. People are making it their duty to protest in support of their stances against systemic racism and support or police reform. Every day there are new updates around the country changing legislation and proposed laws. It’s liberating to see.
But it was a first for me to see black people telling others how to celebrate Juneteenth. Entertainment site xoNecole shared a series of infographics encouraging how people could celebrate their Juneteenth. While I am a black woman, I have never had a tradition for this day. But as I’ve gotten older, I’ve learned that there are many black people who honor it.
I felt like I needed to do something to bring more awareness of my history, especially currently with what’s happening. Until June 19th, I’ve remained in my home social-distanced, and my only knowledge of what’s occurring in the outside world is met through the Internet. I needed to get out of my selfmade COVID-19 dungeon. So Juneteenth, I thought of doing something safe that could give me an escape and purpose.
After George Floyd, my boyfriend and I talked about our feelings about our current social climate in America. Both of us expressed a desire for wanting to do more with our brands in support of the Black community. I don’t know what it was, at that moment we felt like we weren’t doing enough. It’s like a kick of activism sparks in your spirit when something you know that isn’t right eludes in fairness. So boom I had an idea. Taking pictures of BLM signs, morals, businesses in support of #BlackLivesMatter while driving around Baltimore could give us that oomph we were missing. We can still do this and remained social-distanced.
Defund the Police. Need I say more?
I don’t think it’s necessary. We haven’t kept quiet since Floyd. I think people are fed up and won’t keep quiet.
CtrlMyCamera takes the credit for all these photos. That’s why I want to bring attention to supporting this talented black artist.
It’s always fun to catch an artist at work. It’s even more fun when you can get a class from it. Haha. Akeel is the most skilled photographers that I personally know in Baltimore city. So if it came down to finding the perfect person to coach me during a photo walk, no doubt it would be Ctrlmycamera.
A nice night hanging by the fire with friends in our blackness 12 am on Juneteeth.
Akeel Shabazz is the owner of the photography brand CtrlMyCamera. CtrlMyCamera specializes in portrait, event, wedding, landscape, and nature photography. Check out more from Akeel found on his Instagram @ctrlmycamera.
When did you first hear about Juneteenth? Leave your comments below.
There are hundreds of companies and organizations making public stances in support of ending police brutality, supporting police reform, defunding police departments, and so on. The world is looking like it’s making a breakthrough. It really is. As a result of all these changes happening, we as a society look like we don’t know what we should be focusing on because there are lots of organizations making PSAs that aren’t directly focused on police reform but systemic racism in general. I log online and feel like my brain is being pulled from one breakthrough on one side of the country to the next breakthrough on the other.
And like any hot topic, there are so many inquisitive people pondering why we are making so many changes. Questions I’ve seen being asked:
What should be our main focus in the media?
What should we have our attention emotionally, spiritually, and physically?
What’s good for our mind during all of this?
What does this tell me about my frame of character?
Are the changes we’re making moving us in a positive direction?
These are all very good questions to ponder. But I also see people arguing about why we are fighting when they thought racism ended? What are we trying to change? Honestly, I can sense their frustration. If you’re now truly beginning to see how messed up everything is, I’m sure you’re finding out how much more fight we have left to right a wrong system.
Source: Facebook
Ultimately, all of these questions show us how much we don’t know how structured a systemic racial society has shaped how we live our daily lives. So we’re confused. It’s good news one minute to hear people talking of police officers walking out in Atlanta after the charges were made against the cop accused of murdering Rayshard Brooks. “Because this is what it all started from. Police Brutality is the topic.” It’s labeled off-topic the next minute people celebrate the rebranding of breakfast delicacy Cream of Wheat, which if someone was educated on the history of the image on the package, they’d know the chef name is Rastus – a pejorative term and considerably offensive as it’s associated with a depiction of a stereotypically happy Black Man in a plethora of minstrel culture in the 1920s.
We are capable of focusing on more than one thing at a time. Still, while these are two separate stories, racism is the dark cloud that overcasts each. Systemic Racism needs to be addressed from every angle. We don’t have to erase it. But let’s REVISE our history to include everyone in it. Let’s have our story told with the inclusion of the people it’s about. Let’s hear the dialog of those who find that this is wrong. This is one reason why we diversify the people sitting in the seats at big tables at large corporations…AND actually, listen to their input, then implement it. We include them so we don’t have to say oops.
Change is good. Social evolution is a good thing. If you have a problem like NASCAR’s Truck Series Driver Ray Ciccarelli who quits racing because of the confederate flag ban, and if you don’t see how innovative such change can be for NASCAR to move forward from allowing this in the first place, it is your complacency to racism speaking from within. You’d better check it. Because we must knock out every single angle of this racist ass circus:
It still blows my mind people complain about good changes.
Why should corporations and companies change their company stances and political stances in supports of #BLM matter?
Because the “black” dollar has weight.
Black people spend money. Everyone should know black people spend their money. As stated in the Black Detour, “Though Black America makes up a small portion of the US population, Black buying power is approximately $1 trillion with estimates placing it close to $2 trillion by 2020, making us [black people] one of the largest economies in the world according to the World Bank, the 15th largest economy in the world in terms of GDP.” This means black people have an influence on what defines mainstream simply from decisions made from their wallets. This is important to everyone else because this tells us black spending is why you’ll see that item in the isles at the stores, on your television screens, and even down to the place you choose to purchase your crabs in Maryland. It’s crazy how you can find a GoFundMe account created for a Maryland crab shop after it opted to shut down all four of it’s Maryland locations because BLM protests emerged at the Middle River location for the owner and his family’s choices of words and viewpoint in response to 2020 Minneapolis riots and looting.
Screenshot of Vince Crab’s GoFundMe
The weight of the black dollar matters to these corporations. What we see here is our country facing an economic crisis from the coronavirus crisis, too. When the stores open back up, the black dollar matters, right? I’m cautious knowing that my wallet has weight. I’m aware of this power. Companies are changing policies and making public stances also because they know this power, too. Especially in the wake of a pandemic where we’re desperate to not fall into an economic depression. So now I’m choosing to use this power to continue to expand on with conscious shopping, investing in what I feel is worth my money. I’m researching the company and its product. Does this give back to the issues I care about? Hmm…and is it blacked owned, too?
Humans know right from wrong. But our issues are layered and capitalism is corruption. We have to put back into what matters in order to live a better life. So putting money into communities that matter to me is important.
Finding a motive that you’re passionate about. It doesn’t have to be specifically for the BLM organization.
I read everything. I’m not naive to claims of people who opt-out of paying money directly to the BLM organization. Speculation of where the money that’s donated to BLM is always questioned. Speculation for why #BlackLivesMatter protests emerge during the political season, too. Why is it? Who knows? Is it the assumption that it’s a black organization? People could argue. I research where my money is going, too. So often when speaking to someone about supporting black lives, I hear their doubts about donating money to an organization like #BlackLivesMatter.
The Curators Of Hip-Hop hosted a zoom panel discussion “The Organized Culture” on Facebook live discussing issues in the current climate like what we should be doing next from protesting and what needs to be done to see changes when it comes to injustices. Five community leaders in Baltimore had this open discussion on Facebook live sharing what they do as their contributions to helping support the community around them.
It’s important that I shared this entire panel because each speaker shared points worth considering when taking on supporting a cause against injustices like #BlackLivesMatter. But there are many more issues that require attention because the injustices are interchangeably relatable to each other when it comes to the challenges that plague an oppressed and disadvantaged culture. As crime is directly linked more to poverty than race or any other factor. We should be looking to support and find ways to better improve these communities and neighborhoods. We can find roadblocks to almost every avenue of social interaction. Causes that could be addressed for inner-city communities are unemployment, poverty, drug, and alcohol addiction, homelessness, it is not only police reform that needs fixing. Because there is a connection to high crime rates in a system that embellishes all of the above, racism is a plague that is weaved within all of it, and a privileged group that rarely experiences it at all needs to know what’s going on.
Will you make a stand to donate to a cause to change systemic racism in its entirety? What are some causes that you know that fight against injustices? List them in the comments below.
I started writing this blog last week. I revised and deleted it a few times. I’m still weird about publishing this now. But to tell you the truth, I feel the same feeling of word vomit eroding my mouth today as I did 5 years ago when I wrote “#OpinionEssay: The “Real” Revolution Will Not Be Televised. #ILoveBaltimore” during the unrest in Baltimore resulting in the Baltimore Uprising. I don’t care how the blog comes off because it is another protest about what is happening around me. I just asked God to use me as he did before.
On Memorial Day, May 25, 2020, George Floyd, a black American man was executed on video by Officer Derek Chavin of the Minneapolis Police Department. The video went viral like a plethora of other police brutality videos that surface online. But this one…this one might just be the video that dropped a major bomb into white people’s reality. Do we actually have white people on alert as to what happens to Black people in America? Because a week later after this horrific image was shared countless times on our feeds, America also has seen protests and riots in cities across the country calling for justice for Floyd.
Credit:Nick Oxford/Reuters
When I wrote my Opinion Essay about how a revolution and revolt would not be televised, it was to send a message to Black people to come together and educate their families on the realities of being black. I wanted people to talk to their children about Black history. I needed black parents to take the time to teach their kids about a culture and a reality that has led their children to face a different lifestyle than those of other backgrounds. I wanted black people to heal in their black pride by sharing themselves with each other. It wasn’t my intention to tell black people to seek help or compassion from anyone who is white. When black people feel betrayed, that is the last thing they’re thinking of doing. I really believe many black people, like myself, took the time to immerse themselves in their blackness and grew in their pride because I saw so much uplifting and positivity living in the midst of the 2015 Baltimore Uprising. But the revolution was not going to be televised and all the positivity Black Baltimoreans experienced was short-lived.
Today I feel different about this revolution for Black America. I mean, the revolution is definitely on TV lol. There are so many black people who are already strong, having pride for themselves and culture. Black people live in their blackness daily. We don’t need to keep being reminded of why we go through these harsh realities. We’ve even gotten accustomed to healing each other whenever we’re knocked down with each release of a new video or news story. Though so many people yell #AllLivesMatter or Black on Black crime -blah, blah, blah- that is absolutely irrelevant to what attention we want. Black People are faced with injustices that people are deliberately ignoring. The revolution we’re watching for sure needs to be televised but this part of it is not for our spectatorship, it’s for our voice.
This revolution needs our labor at this moment to be a voice in our pure authentic blackness. This revolution needs for us to share our black stories, our black experiences, our black pain, and our black hopes. We need to share these things with our white friends so they can empathize with them. We need them to find some way to feel how we feel so that it can provoke them to fight for their allies because when white people care, they fight. It’s liberating to see more of my white friends, co-workers, and acquaintances speaking up after seeing this video. It’s amazing seeing white people taking the initiative to do the things that I asked of from Black people.
June 2, 2020, is a unique day in history particularly because #BlackOutTuesday will mark a day when industries and companies around the world chose to stop what they were doing to stand in solidarity against systemic racism. It’s the day America is literally acknowledging the bullshit. It might not be the whole country because there are still many doubters. But America today looks like it wants to listen to what we have to say. Black people have been screaming for such acknowledgment since forever ago. I’m a little overwhelmed with America lending an ear to Black folks, but goddammit about time. It’s the first time in all my life that I’m seeing white guilt on such a huge magnitude. I watched a video on Baltimore Fox 45 Facebook Live of hundreds of white people kneeling in solidarity on Northern Parkway and Roland Ave. We’re nowhere near the endpoint of racism but at least I’m seeing white people just as outraged as we are.
Several hundred protestors are kneeling for 9 mins on Northern Pkwy and Roland Ave. Eddie Kadhim WMAR is on scene (Source: Facebook WBAR-2)
It’s not over. We still need our white allies. But we need this issue to be in their faces constantly. That’s the just reality of it. Once George Floyd’s investigation dies down in the media, will white people stop trying to learn what’s really affecting people of color? When I think of the answer to this question in general, it’s no because it’s a really uncomfortable subject. People do not like facing being uncomfortable. A huge part of me believes that once we stop talking about it, we’ll fall back into this being black people’s reality, and I’m not being a narcissist when I think this because this is my reality. I’m black and there are a lot of wow factors about my daily escapades of being a black woman I often gaze over as just another thing I’m used to.
This is the new challenge that I would like white allies to face now that we’ve got a lot of their attention. I challenge them to continually diversify their mind while learning black culture because many of us have concerns about what’s genuine. All these awesome stances are being made, but will they make an effort to continue to learn about systemic racism and seek ways to help fight it? Will they deliberately seek moments that may make them uncomfortable with the intentions of it helping them grow? The country needs unity and in order to get there, we need collaboration and understanding that will not expire once the next headline takes the lead, I’m just saying.
Credit: Stephen Maturen/Getty Images
I’m tired. So are a lot of other black people. Are white people truly tired?
