De, Briefly: Reflecting on Juneteenth

Yesterday was one of both celebration and deep reflection for people across our nation. As we honored Juneteenth—the day in 1865 when the last Black people in Texas were informed of their freedom from slavery—many felt the profound meaning of it as Black and Brown people created works, shared stories, and took to the streets to continue manifesting the promise of justice and equality in this nation. 

Black ancestors and elders endured great burdens, pains, and struggles in hopes that my generation would taste the sweetness of liberty, but as police brutality, public health, and economic crises ravage through Black communities, such a dream continues to be soured and rotted by the toxicity of racism, systemic injustice, and cultural indifference.

Yesterday, like everyday, I stood boldly in action, vision, and determination with friends and freedom fighters across the nation to continue the work our ancestors began. As I marched in Memphis with my family—from the "I Am A Man" Plaza near the Civil Rights Museum to Beale Street and various sites throughout downtown—I was reminded of the long legacy of civil rights that lives in our souls.

Today, we continue this fight. We continue to stand. We continue to act.

And as you read this, I hope you are standing up too by finding the ways in which you can encourage greater love, kindness, support, and advocacy with Black people in your family, community, workplace, social spaces, and online networks. 

Below I have included a few efforts that I am leading to help accomplish this through creative practice. And, across the web, I will continue to share other resources, reading lists, actions, and inspiration from others too. 

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Design as Protest

Dismantling Spatialized Racism in the Built Environment 

Design as Protest (DAP) is a collaborative effort co-organized by me and fellow black designers, Bryan C. Lee, Jr., Taylor Holloway, and Mike Ford that endeavors to hold the design industry accountable in using our collective power to reverse the unjust harms that architecture and design have caused black people and communities. 

Related Press: DAP: Design Justice for Black Lives initiative seeks to streamline professional activism (Archinect)

Growing Griot

Rallying Support for St. Louis' Black History Museum

It is projected that 13% of American museums will not survive the economic strain of the coronavirus pandemic. Because of the inequities that have faced small and culturally-specific museums for decade, black history museums are at highest risk of closing doors. In St. Louis, I invite others to join me in helping to ensure that The Griot Museum of Black History—the city's first and largest museum dedicated to black history and culture—is not one of these. Growing Griot is an initiative I am co-leading to help the museum build capacity, re-imagine its exhibits and programs, and deepen its efforts as a cultural anchor in the city.

See what we have been up to.

Press: Griot Director, Lois Conley, Talks Juneteenth in STL (KSDK)
Event: June 26—The Griot Museum's Juneteenth Art Auction

Racial Healing & Justice

With Forward Through Ferguson

Image via Forward through Ferguson

With a matching grant from Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and a growing pool of participating organizations, $1.4 million has been committed establishing, the St. Louis Regional Racial Healing Fund which will invest in healing community trauma and changing the conditions that reinforce systemic racism. Over the next few months, I will be creating digital content and contributing to experiences with Forward through Ferguson that help educate others about what racial healing and justice means.