“Black Futures” & Black History Month: A Collaborative Journey
RECAP of Week 4: February 22nd – 26th, 2021
Pride. If I had to summarize this month long journey in one word that would be it.
Every year I become more proud to be Black. Not because it becomes any more special or easier to be but because the deeper I dig into the wealth that is Blackness the more I understand it is truly an INFINITE one.
“Make It So…”
We often talk about Black History being more than a month, we say it’s “24/7 ” or “365”, but how often do we talk about that as being a celebration, an action? Over the last month this journey has made it so I had to ACT on those things & ENGAGE those around me purposefully. Rather than in the ways I had come to assume were already happening organically. A daily conscious effort to make sure I celebrated something Black. Some days I had to work for it, especially if I wanted it to be seen as #BlackJoy and not just #BlackHistory.
If nothing else, I hope this journey made someone feel seen.
Helped opened someone’s eyes to the depths of #BlackGirlMagic.
What is my life if I am not visible?
Page 476 of “BLACK FUTURES”
“Mildred Lorraine’s Tired Smile”
I spent much of the month as I read “BLACK FUTURES”, a book that truly embodies the concept of collaboration, thinking about just what that word meant to me.
As an artist, as an educator, a womxn, a friend, a daughter… I realized I’m most proud of all the humans I have been given the gift to know, to work along side of & to learn about. My takeaway? Never stop learning, celebrating or collaborating.
Blackness is infinite… we have only just begun.
I dedicate my journey to my namesake Mildred Lorraine who I hope is off somewhere dancing with her beloved Bernard, no longer tired.
DC Based Artist & Educator
Corcoran College of Art + Design Alumni
Always painting, usually writing, making a living out of making art; I make my art work.
