Read

Watch

Lifting up Black Stories: 3 Artists Fighting Racism

Creator:
Published:
December 19, 2023
June 2, 2020
Watch how these three black artists confront racism through art, songwriting, and movie making.|Watch how these three black artists confront racism through art, songwriting, and movie making.

The protests and violence disrupting our communities are signs that we need a new vision for society. We are ready for a new way to be Americans and people of faith and goodwill together — it’s long past time for us to make that new world a reality. 

One way to see what it takes to build that new world can be glimpsed in the efforts of black artists who have been leading us in that direction for a long time. Here are three artists who have been using their craft to explicitly confront racism. Witnessing their work will allow us to imagine it for ourselves — and by imagining it, start to do it. 

Miles Regis

 

 

LA-based artist Miles Regis creates art for social justice and to bring about change. It's not just paint, and it's not just anger — Miles's work transcends both.

"There’s a lot to be angry about,” Miles says. “I’m not gonna apologize for expressing my truth. At the end of the day, that’s what an artist needs to do."

David Bailey

 

 

David Bailey founded the Urban Doxology Songwriting Internship to invest in young people and create new culture by helping them write songs that facilitate healing and justice. They write songs of healing, songs of hope, songs that will help to bring people together in unity.

"We have two choices: either we could be a part of the problem or we can be part of the solution,” David says. “And each of us has a piece to play and therefore we work together and create a beautiful picture of what we hope to see in the world."

Ayana Baraka

 

 

Ayana Baraka is the creator of an upcoming historical film about the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre. Filmed on the actual Greenwood Avenue, this film is both a way to preserve history and bring healing.  In fact, Ayana just released the virtual reality project to YouTube.

"When you film on the land with the ancestors of folks who were murdered or who survived, it resonated,” Ayana says. “And I think that was powerful, and that was the best takeaway."

We know that sharing stories is a key part of the transformation we need to undergo. We need to seek out and embrace stories of people exposing inequality and meeting it with representation. It’s not enough to do only that, but it is a start. 

Creators:
Grotto
Published:
December 19, 2023
June 2, 2020
On a related note...
March Madness Champions and Their ‘Painful Gift’

March Madness Champions and Their ‘Painful Gift’

Grotto Shares

A Commitment to Radical Kinship

A Commitment to Radical Kinship

Stephanie DePrez

Starting a Business: Your Checklist

Starting a Business: Your Checklist

Grotto

"A Warmer Wind"

"A Warmer Wind"

Marty Moran

“Living Alongside Death”

“Living Alongside Death”

Janelle Peregoy

3 Practices to Enrich Your Life

3 Practices to Enrich Your Life

Cate Von Dohlen

Want to Live More Intentionally? Channel Your Inner Monk

Want to Live More Intentionally? Channel Your Inner Monk

Isaac Huss

Providing a Safe, Fun Environment for Children in Foster Care

Providing a Safe, Fun Environment for Children in Foster Care

Grotto

Father’s Day Spotify Playlist | #GrottoMusic

Father’s Day Spotify Playlist | #GrottoMusic

Grotto

How My Philosophy Degree Has Served Me IRL

How My Philosophy Degree Has Served Me IRL

Isaac Huss

3 Questions to Ask Your S.O. Before Marriage

3 Questions to Ask Your S.O. Before Marriage

Mike Tenney

She Sparks Change within Young Women

She Sparks Change within Young Women

Grotto

How Can We Learn from Privilege?

How Can We Learn from Privilege?

Ben Wilson

Remembering Kobe Together

Remembering Kobe Together

Josh Flynt

5 Hobbies You Can Take on Solo

5 Hobbies You Can Take on Solo

Marye Colleen Larme

Why I Wrote Poetry During My First Pregnancy

Why I Wrote Poetry During My First Pregnancy

Ellen B. Koneck

Wonder and Awe in the Study of Cosmology

Wonder and Awe in the Study of Cosmology

Grotto

"How To Stay Friends With an Ex"

"How To Stay Friends With an Ex"

Sophie Caldecott

This Worldwide Peace Movement is a Call to Unity

This Worldwide Peace Movement is a Call to Unity

Katie Faley

Start Your Day With These Yoga Postures

Start Your Day With These Yoga Postures

Hanna Van Elk

newsletter

We’d love to be pals.

Sign up for our newsletter, and we’ll meet you in your inbox each week.