Let’s not equivocate: Black Lives Matter. If you are familiar with our art, you know that we have often addressed the issue of race. Take our Language of Color Series: various compositions of colored pencils that expose, upon closer inspection, the often tortured relationship between the races. But this subtlety might be lost on some people, so we want to make sure everyone knows where we stand: Black Lives Matter.
It’s the over 400-year legacy of slavery that we need to finally . . . finally . . . come to terms with and overcome. We certainly don’t have the one-size-fits-all answer, but we have always felt that one way to make change is to vote.
The Pixeladies remember well that one particular night, November 4, 2008. Everyone was filled with hope that the election of Barack Obama would usher in a more equitable future. While it is sometimes hard to tap, especially in recent days, we hang on to this hope. The hope in a more equitable future. A future where Black Lives Matter.
And let it begin with your vote. Vote as if your life depended on it, because it does. Vote all the way down the ballot. Vote for the people who, if nothing else, believe everyone should have the right to vote. Finally, support those organizations who are working tirelessly to secure this most precious right. The right that could change the power structure. Here are a few worthy organizations:
- When We All Vote
- Fair Fight
- ACLU: Voting Rights Project
- Human Rights Watch: 2020 Election Guide
- Brennan Center for Justice
And remember what Barack Obama told us all to do in 2016. Those words are even more important today: “Don’t boo. Vote.”
5 responses to “Mark Your Ballot Because Black Lives Matter”
Yes! VOTE! The organizations that you mention are a great place to start. And if you want to encourage even more people to vote — in a very personal way — then join me and 75,000 other citizens who are writing to voters right now: http://www.postcardstovoters.org.
We have to get ‘er done!
Another way to get out the vote that can be done safely at home, is writing letters through http://www.votefwd.org. Voting is a responsibility we should all take seriously. I love the saying “Democracy is not a spectator sport.”
Thanks for the information, Jeanne!
The Pixeladies remember well that one particular night, November 4, 2008. Everyone was filled with hope that the election of Barack Obama would usher in a more equitable future.
You and a lot of the rest of us. Unfortunately that election also brought out the worst in some of us, those who feared that equality for all would somehow jeopardize their welfare. Those who can win only by demeaning, disenfranchising and destroying others deserve our contempt. Our first step towards making America truly great again will be to remove these contemptuous people and their enablers from any position of power. Please vote accordingly.
[…] by a police officer in Minneapolis, Minnesota. We already wrote about our support of the movement here, but we wanted to share a couple of our artworks again within this historical […]