Black Lives Matter: Connecting Themes Through Art and Abolition

We want to start by acknowledging that we are all reverberating with feelings of injustice following the recent failure to hold police officers accountable for the murder of Breonna Taylor. If you are able, consider donating to the Louisville Bail Fund, and/or share other resources on our D/I/P Slack page.

We will continue our discussions in D/I/P focusing on power, racism, and harm. For next Monday, we will engage with two resources:

1. First, read The Everyday Black Life of Abolition by Celeste Winston. Dr. Winston describes historic and contemporary abolition efforts rooted in Black communities. Dr. Winston is giving a Geosciences seminar on October 2nd (see details below & mark your calendars).

2. Second, visit the Breathing While Black online exhibit at the UMass Fine Arts Center. Look through as many of the pieces as you’d like, and reflect on reactions you feel, connections you make, questions you have.

As you read Winston’s piece and look through the Breathing While Black exhibit, make notes about connections to themes we’ve discussed thus far, including power, white supremacy, colonialism, harm, intersectionality, racism, justice, and more. Specifically, note connections you see to the Schell et al. piece from our discussion on 9/21.

On Monday, we’ll start off with a free-writing activity to prompt our discussion.