North Carolina Black Artists for Liberation
is a collective of Black artists and arts workers
throughout the state of North Carolina.
The signed North Carolina-based working and originating Black makers, performers, and artists are committed to building an equitable arts and cultural sector. It is our labor, dollars, sweat equity, and culture that make both burgeoning and prestigious North Carolina organizations culturally viable. As educators, volunteers, artists, and essential workers, we recognize that the moment for systemic change is now.
The history of predominantly white-led institutions benefiting from the disenfranchisement of the Black artist and community is well documented. From slavery to Jim Crow, to post Civil Rights era, to today, Black artists have been continuously excluded from the canon, been wrongly categorized, and historically disregarded as is obvious by the egregious lack of Black staff, leadership, and representation at cultural institutions across the nation.
A Rendering of Reversal:
1. Leverage your power, influence, and platform via structured action to ascertain viable and sustainable support to Black communities, Black entrepreneurship, and Black artistry.
2. Ensure conducive environments for Black artists and patrons by identifying, examining, deconstructing, and eradicating existing racist policies and processes buried in the fabric of your Institution.
- Provide complimentary admission for individuals, schools, businesses and organizations that identify as Black Indigenous or People of Color (BIPOC) or BIPOC-led organizations.
- Insist that your non-Black staff undergo racial sensitivity training and social justice workshops led by Black consultants and/or Black organizations.
- commit to ensuring that your programs feature diverse speakers and presenters, reflect voices of the local community, and offer programming that more directly addresses systemic racism, inequitable power and the liberation of Black people.
3. Honor and respect the Black creative by awarding voice, visibility, acknowledgment, and compensation that commensurates with their white male counterparts.
- Material investment in increasing Black leadership in your organization by recruiting more Black board members, senior leadership, curators, and staff beyond tokenism with competitive wages, clearly articulated goals and timelines for equitable pay.
- Invite Black artists and makers to participate on your organization’s board ensuring that artists are included at every stage of the decision-making process.
- If your institution houses an art collection, demonstrate your commitment to the conservation, contextualization, and preservation of Black art by increasing the representation of acquired work by Black artists.
We recognize that the transformation of our field and organizations is urgent and is also an ongoing long-term process and commitment. Your commitment to the lifelong work of dismantling racist paradigms, systems and structures won’t happen overnight. Because of this, we are interested in implementing accountability measures for all organizations.
You, your organization and your colleagues can contribute to The NC Black Artists for Liberation Project by making a donation here. But your investment must go beyond your cash donation.
It is your organization’s responsibility to design, develop and enact a clearly articulated racial equity plan (based on your capacity, size and funding) with measurable goals in the areas of hiring, organizational culture, leadership and organizational transparency over the next six months. If you are feeling lost and don’t know where to begin, consider hiring a BIPOC consultant to assist with the development of a strategic plan.
Complacency is just as violent as silence. If in 6 months your organization stands without a plan for action, we will:
- Alert your high level donors, both individuals and large corporations, of your inadequacy.
- Ask your board members to divest from your organization and instead focus their efforts towards individuals, organizations, and spaces that are actively doing the work to dismantle racism.
- Flag specific racist policies or procedures that are inherently racist at your specific organization.
Conversely, organizations that are taking effective measures to end the inherently racist policies and procedures embedded in our field will be publicly honored and promoted.
While we understand that culture alone cannot fix systemic racism, culture is strongly connected to racism’s material effects and the violence used against us as Black artists and makers. This is your opportunity to really be the change that we need to see.
Signed:
| Marcus Kiser |
| Jessica Moss |
| Carmen Neely |
| Sherill Roland |
| J. Stacy Utley |
| Chris Watts |
| Antoine Williams |
Standing in solidarity with us:
| Brian T Leahy | Grace Stott |
| Brian M Wilson | Lydia Thompson |
| Jordan T. Robinson | Cameron Bowie |
| Morgan Maxwell | Chris Ivey |
| Danielle Carelock | Rebecca Henderson |
| Jess Masanotti | Lila Allen |
| Ruby Ferguson | Emily Ensminger |
| Shareese D. Castillo | Yoori Shin |
| Chris Vitiello | Anna Cone |
| Chad Cartwright | Nadia Phillips |
| Bryan M Wilson | Iris Williamson |
| Carey J. King | Sonya Pfeiffer |
| Aubrey Hedrick | Davita Galloway |
| Cecilia Zuvic | Annie Lattimore |
| Cait Nolan | Lien Truong |
| Dennissa Young | Ryan Macon |
| Chieko Murasugi | Saba Taj |
| Hồng-Ân Trương | Catherine Burns |
| Jennifer Meanley | Andrea Vail |
| Devon McKnight | Crystal Presley |
| Jasmine Best | Chloé Rager |
| Erika Sanchez | LaDara McKinnon |
| Brandon Cordrey | Elizabeth Arzani |
| Evie Vanderveer | Meagan Long |
| Mitchell Kearney | Kulsum Tasnif |
| Sasha Lara | Anna Garner |
| Elder Gallery Of Contemporary Art | Telvin Wallace |
| Brianna Daniels | Helen Schwab |
| Johannes Barfield | Fidaa Abudayeh |
| Goldeicreations | Susan Hendley |
| Becky Jollensten | LaTiss Davis |
| Rahkie Mateen | John David Ralls |
| Ilina Ewen | Barbara Campbell Thomas |
| Ocean Hak-Kuhn | Ricky Raines |
| Jalonda B. Graham | E’Vonne Coleman |
| Alexandra McArthur | Adrian Solomon |
| Alexandra Walker | Ashley Nickens |
| Kwaku Osei | Cam Sumner |
| Bethany Eddleman | Thomas P. Boyle |
| Lizzie Duggan | Nelly Kate |
| Sarah Kordulewski | Taylor McKusick |
| Ashley Proctor | Terri Jones |
| Marian Azeb Mereba | Jessica Foster |
| Liz Miller | Emilie Paiva |
| Xross (cross) | Mia McManus |
| Amy H | Christy Blanco |
| Megan Sullivan | Baxter Buchanan |
| Sean Marimpietri | Kay Tuttle |
| Andrea Phillips | Sarah Elizabeth Cornejo |
| Maryssa Pickett | Ashley Brown |
| william cordova | Natalie Strait |
| Hannah Shaban | Meg Stein |
| Katie Causey Miller | Sonja Langford |
| Mick Winston | David A Hamlow |
| Erica Collier | Debbie Robbins |
| Kate Robinson | Jaclyn Bowie |
| Kulsum Tasnif | Bre'Anna Washington |
| Logan Cyrus | HNin Nie |
| Catherine Burns | Anna Weaver |
| Angela Roote | Aviva Imbrey |
| Luke Hodges | Catherine Armistead |
| Erika Hirugami, MAAB. | Jasmine Best |
| Katy G Collier | Yana Rene’ |
| Deepanjan Mukhopadhyay | Sandi Carter |
| Wendy Earle | Justus W. Harris |
| Matthew Giddings | Matt Olin |
| Alia El-Bermani | Aisha Cannon |
| Laura Little | Gesche Würfel |
| Claudio Ortiz | Ant M Lobo |
| Erica Porter | Candy Carver |
| Kate Nation | Jamila Brown |
| Emily Power | Anna Good |
| Laura Ritchie | Mavis Gragg |
| Janee Caulton | Donell stinesjones |
| Nell Fortune-Greeley | Quincy Lee |
| Alvin C. Jacobs Jr | Teddy |
| Shihad Jackson | Caitlin Margaret Kelly |
| Joyce Weaver | Carrie Le Chevallier |
| Sasha Lara | Kelly Sheppard Murray |
| Sydney Sherrill Gingrow | Lisa Homann |
| Bobby Blue | Anna Luisa Daigneault (Quilla) |
| Sunny Spillane | Nicole Calderon |
| Catherine Burns | Claire Ashby |
| JuJu Holton | Chelsea Whitton |
| Maurice Moore | Alison Dunn |
| Jane Cassidy | Alex Alcorn |
| Patrick Haren | Southern Arts Movement |
| Grace Clark | Leah Sobsey |
| Alyzza May | Justin Tornow |
| Carri Shaffner Yow | Annah Lee |
| Sarah Kordulewski | Sarah Ingel |
| Megan Payne | Amanda Skiscim |
| Erika Corey | Whitney Stanley |
| Scott Summers | I'Nasah Kiam Crockett |
| Slater Mapp | Dylan Gilbert |
| Craig Cutright | Julianna Nwobi |
| Kristy Breneman | Mollie Whalen |
| Adria Gunter | Jillian Doherty |
| Elle Ivy Green | Pete Harvey |
| Taya Lindsey | Ida Mae |
| Kelsey Brand | Hanna Propst |
| Mike McCray | Gracelee Lawrence |
| Tierney Steelberg | Steven M. Cozart |
| Brandi Schmitz | Dani Brockington |
| Ashley G. | Matthew Fitzgerald |
| Becca Cheshire | Carlton Hargro |
| Trey Roberts | Will Bruno |
| Melissa Richard | Rhiza Stirning |
| Sabrina Melton | Allison Spooner |
| Cassie Hamrick | Leonard C Muckle |
| Sam Naber | Barent Getzoff |
| Angela Lombardi | Morgan O |
| Gabe Duggan | Claire Stamper |
| Causey Brady | William J Carpenter |
| April Parker | Heather Fortney |
| Brianna Yancey | Brittany Carlson |
| Leala King | Nina Ward |
| Jessika S. Johnson | Collin D Perry |
| Dane Winkler | Kay Tuttle |
| C. Renee | Ade Hogue |
| Sydney Steen | Ash Eliza Smith |
| Meghan Smith | Aviva Imbrey |
| Brittany Carlson | Mary Poole |
| Nyla Rudisill-Black | Ann Dawkins |
| Dalia Dalili | Regina Robertson |
| Julia Caston | James L Williams |
| Richelle Soper | Alexandra Snowden |
| James L Williams | Derek Toomes |
| Veronica Ann Neely | Michael Neely |
| Gui Portel | A'lexus Newkirk |
| Irina Toshkova | Brittany Solem |
| Kate Freitag | Erin Kye |
| Krista Hoefle | Maria Britton |
| Monet Noelle Marshall | Mirra Goldfrad |
| Kulsum Tasnif | Colby Caldwell |
| Anna Wallace | Gale Manning |
| Stacey L Kirby | Jeel Storelli |
| Lorraine Turi | Trey Robers |
| Stephen Morrison | Massie Minor |
| Heather Gordon | William Jenkins |
| Destiny Stone | Pete Sack |
| Ricky Singh | HannaH Jean Crowell |
| Adam N. Justice | Kat Cramer |
| Julia Butcher | Naomi Chambers |
| Megan Howard | Samantha Reynolds |
| Nolan Purvis | Dylan Sierra Rushing |
| Olga Brindar | Katherine Mooring |
| Sandrine Gibbons | Tiffany berry |
| KHEM | Liz Fitzgerald |
| Ash Limés Castellana | Alisha Wormsley |
| LaMont Hamilton | Joey Emanuel |
| Jimese Orange | Conner Calhoun |
| Michelle Freeman | Jenelle Hanes |
| Ron Everett | Joseph Navarra Jr |
| Martez Prince | Kirby Slade |
| John Paul Feliciano | Demarcus Williams |
| Alethea Byrd | MR Toomey |
| Demarcus Williams | Jermaine Coles |
| Alethea Byrd | FAITH Anthony MEJIA |
| ariana f | Nick Harris |
| Marcus Belvin | Julie Pitts |
| Will Gilreath | Cherrita Wallace |
| SoL Gonzalez -Feliciano | Alessandria Shines |
| Conner Calhoun | Judie Bamber |
| Andrew S Yang | Dr. Keith Cradle |
| Rory D Sheriff | Brenda Miller Holmes |
| Stephanie J. Woods |