George Floyd. Breonna Taylor. Ahmaud Arbery.
Say their names. We mourn the senseless killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery, and our hearts go out to their families. Unfiltered San Antonio refuses to stay silent and stands in solidarity with #BlackLivesMatter.
Unfiltered San Antonio condemns racism and violence against our Black brothers and sisters.
We acknowledge that we will never understand the human experience of being Black in the United States. Non-Black and white folks must learn how to best support the Black community and proactively work towards dismantling white supremacy and systems of oppression.
Staying silent is being complicit to racism. This is a dark moment for many; please remember you are not alone. Unfiltered SA is committed to joining our Black community in this fight.
We are calling on to the San Antonio art community to face our own shadows and reflect on how we have taken part in perpetuating racism.
Wake-Up
As if recent events weren’t enough of a wake-up call. We live in a broken system that perpetuates racism and oppression. As artists, arts administrators, art audiences, what are some of our own complicit behaviors?
Recognize Your Privilege
In a city with more than 50% of the population identifies as Latino or Hispanic, we must look to ourselves and all the ways we have benefited from colorism and the colonial system.
Accountability (Individually and Collectively)
We must hold ourselves and those in our circle of influence accountable for problematic, racist behavior. We must continue to learn and correct ourselves when ‘called out’ for failing to understand our own complicit behaviors. As artists, arts administrators, and art audiences, how do we challenge ourselves and organizations to combat systemic racism? Who benefits from the artistic and creative expression of people of color? How do we show up for the Black community?
Take Action
“We know how to be racist. We know how to pretend to be not racist. Now let’s know how to be antiracist.” - Ibram X. Kendi, How to Be An AntiRacist
Listen to these podcasts getting real about anti-blackness:
- Bag Ladiez: #SleepingWhileBlack
- Bitter Brown Femmes: Don’t be Electric Sheeps
- Caña Negra: Breaking Tradition and Dragging Anti-Black Norms in Latinx Space
- Cosas de la Vida Real: Anti-Blackness in Brown Communities
Read some of these books on race:
- How To Be An Antiracist, by Ibram X. Kendi
- Redefining Realness, by Janet Mock
- So You Want to Talk About Race, by Ijeoma Oluo
- White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism, by Robin Diangelo, PhD
- This Bridge Called My Back: Writings by Radical Women of Color, by Cherrie Moraga
Here are a few organizations, funds, and resources, you can donate to and learn from.
- Bail Funds/Legal Help
- Black Visions Collective
- Campaign Zero
- Color of Change
- George Floyd Memorial Fund
- I Run with Maud - Justice for Ahmaud Arbery Fundraiser
- Justice for Breonna Taylor - Petition and Fundraiser
- Minnesota Freedom Fund
- Reclaim the Block
For an extensive list of antiracism resources and organizations doing important work surrounding racial equity and justice, here is a list compiled by Sarah Sophie Flicker and Alyssa Klein.
As a digital platform solely dedicated to the visual arts in San Antonio, Texas, Unfiltered San Antonio is committed to creating a space for our community to come together to have unfiltered conversations needed to make a change. The time for these conversations are long overdue, but its never too late to start. It is up to us to move these conversations into creative action and work collaboratively to transform our neighborhoods and communities. We welcome and want to hold accountable our art community.
**This article was edited on May 31, 2020, to provide additional resources and organizations one can donate to and learn from.
