Many of us are moved to march, or to write letters, donate funds, have the tough conversations with our friends and family and some of us, in times such as these, also make art. We paint, we shoot, we write, we edit. Our voices cry out, yearning to be heard above the din, hoping to make something meaningful with which someone, somewhere, will connect.
A lot of my art is focused on the humanity of my brothers and sisters. It is about creating empathy, about opening the conduit that allows others to see the beauty and feel the pain in our experience. This is me trying to work out for myself the dichotomy of a country that seeks to absorb and possess everything that we create yet simultaneously hate its creators. This is me, a Black mother, trying her damndest to change a country that will fear and loathe my child for his very existence all while gaslighting me into believing that if we just work harder, if we just play by the rules, if we just comply, we will overcome—until we don’t. This is me, screaming into the void, trying to keep my sanity, while understanding that the only means that I have of protecting him is by making my art and praying that it opens hearts and changes minds…
My voice isn’t the loudest but, much like The Whos in “Horton Hears A Who”, it takes every voice, from the loudest to the smallest, to cry out and let the world know we are here and we are ready for change.
We. Are. Here!
Short Film / Music video created by Monique Pearl, featuring footage from protest marches across the nation and around the world.
Music: “Freedom” – Dichotomy featuring Keaton Lange and Bright Son. Original song produced by Younger Entertainment.
