Black Lives Matter (BLM) is not a moment. Rather, it is a movement. As our social feeds shift their focus away from Black lives, it is imperative that all creatives continue to advocate for BLM. Creatively Asian believes that the creative arts community truly has the ability to make an incredible impact and educate audiences through such a powerful vehicle that is the arts. We want to utilize out platform to continually advocate for equality and fight against all types of racism, including the unacceptable anti-Blackness that is seen in the Asian community. Hopefully, this guide will provide you with valuable methods and resources to continually support the Black Lives Matter movement. Thank you.
For graphic designers, painters, and artists:
Create graphics to promote the BLM movement with information concerning the history of racism, black businesses to support, petitions to sigh, organizations to donate to, and voter registration.
Design informational door hangers to put around your neighborhood.
Sell your art prints, pins, stickers, and/or other merchandise and donate the profits.
Commission drawings and donate the proceeds.
Construct a children's book or colorable bookmarks that promote racial equality and conversations about racism to distribute at local elementary schools.
Paint a BLM mural.
Decorate BLM signs to distribute locally.
For singers, musicians, and performers:
Promote the work of black musicians and composers.
Host an Instagram Live event (with music, dance, theatre, etc.) dedicated to fundraising for Black Lives Matter organizations.
Organize virtual live shows and donate proceeds from ticket sales.
Auction off special items like limited edition vinyls and other music merchandise.
Perform a short play, write a song, or create a podcast or video dedicated to educating about racism and BLM.
Read a children's books that promotes discussions about racism through Zoom to preschool/elementary school students. (A is for Activist by Innosanto Nagara, A Kid's Book about Racism by Jelani Memory, and The Colors of Us by Karen Katz).
For filmmakers and video editors:
Create informative videos to educate others on topics such as police brutality during peaceful protesting, racial inequality statistics, and the suppression of black history in school (with a trigger warning for violence, assault, and hate speech if necessary).
Edit video clips of protests and create a montage.
Compile accurate news footage to share and help keep everyone informed.
Produce a short film about how it feels to experience racism, especially growing up as a child.
Make a short animated video with quick facts to help educate others.
Utilize social platforms such as Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok to post these videos.
For journalists, writers, and poets:
Create poems, articles, short stories, etc. to promote the importance of the BLM movement.
Draft and share sample emails to send to your local government. (Be sure to include synonyms and alternatives for the wording/diction to ensure these emails aren't marked as spam).
Create petitions for more historical black representation in your local school county, the removal of Confederate statues, the betterment of your city's police department, etc.
Join or create a book club that focuses on African American culture or BLM.
Create informative letters (in different languages) to distribute locally and share online.
For photographers and photo editors:
Take photographs at protests respectfully by ensuring that faces cannot be clearly seen. Ask for permission, have the subject(s) of your photo wear their masks, take the photo from an angle where faces are obscured-such as from behind or the side, withhold from sharing photos with protestor's faces on social media.
Consider the consequences of publishing certain images of protestors/vulnerable communities. Keep these factors in mind in your coverage. For more thorough information, visit @authoritycollective on Instagram.
Organizations to donate to:
Color of Change: colorofchange.org is the nation's largest online racial justice organization. They help people respond effectively to injustice in the world around us. As a national online force driven by more than 1.5 million members, they move decision-makers in corporations and government to create a more human and less hostile world for Black people in America.
UndocuBlack Network: undocublack.org is a multigenerational network of currently and formerly undocumented Black people that fosters community, facilitates access resources, and contributes to transforming the realities of their people, so they are thriving and living their fullest lives.
Black Girl Magik: blackgirlmagik.com is a collective of artists and community organizers that hosts lectures, workshops, and events for women and girls from the African diaspora.
National Association of Black Journalists: nabj.org is an organization of journalists, students, and media-related professionals that provides quality programs and services to advocate on behalf of Black journalists worldwide.
Black Artists and Designers Guild: badguild.info/about combats the underrepresentation of black creatives in the art and design industries. The guild works to give artists the opportunities for exposure and networking.
Black Art Futures Fund: blackartfutures.org/donate/ is a collective of emerging philanthropists promoting the elevation of black arts and culture. The group provides grants to small profit organizations working to secure the future of the black art community.
Afrotectopia: afrotectopia.org/donate fosters innovation at the intersections of art, design, technology, black culture, and activism. The organization hosts an annual new-media festival, summer camps for New York public-school students, provides college scholarships, and supports black-owned businesses.
Reclaim The Black: reclaimtheblack.org/donate began in 2008 and organizes the Minneapolis community and city council members to move money from the police department into other areas of the city's budget that truly promote community health and safety.
The NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc.: naacpldf.org/ is America's premier legal organization fighting for racial injustice. Through litigation advocacy, and public education, LDF seeks structural changes to expand democracy, eliminate disparities, and achieve racial justice in a society that fulfills the promise of equality for all Americans.
Inspired by @stephseemsok on Instagram.
Originally created and posted on Instagram (@creativelyasian). Click to go to the original post!