J usticeAid believes in justice and the power of art to bring us together in the fight for a more equitable nation and world. This year, in parallel with our fundraising for Black Voters Matter, each month we will highlight Black artists in order to uplift those whose voices have been muted, and whose visions can help us all see ourselves as we really are, and as we could be.

Art

HANK WILLIS THOMAS 

Artist Hank Willis Thomas symbolizes the hug Dr. King and Coretta Scott King shared after Dr. King won the 1964 Nobel Peace Prize in The Embrace, a bronze figural abstraction unveiled in 2023 at Freedom Plaza on Boston Common.

The piece is intended to be a call to action, or call to love, but it received controversial reviews from the King family and the public. Noted the artist in this Time Magazine interview, “It’s important to highlight that the overwhelming majority of monuments not only in the park, but also in the world are monuments to violence, or memorials for victims of violence. And something as radical as a monument to love in a society that celebrates hate is going to and must necessarily challenge the status quo.” (Photo of The Embrace by John Tlumacki/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)

Music

In The Sharecropper’s Daughter, DC rapper Sa-Roc builds a bridge between her father’s upbringing as a sharecropper and her own, which took place during the crack epidemic and the war on drugs. In doing so, she paints a vivid picture of what it’s like to be Black in a country that’s designed to work against you. Read this interview from VOID with Sa-Roc.

LISTEN TO THE SHARECROPPER’S DAUGHTER
Assata Perkins, known professionally as SA-ROC
“Each lyric is a family tree grounded in the emotional inheritance that flourishes into a cacophony of rhythm. It’s an invitation to explore yourself, fall in love with yourself, and emerge triumphantly on the other side.”
—SA-ROC

FILM

BLACK AUGUST

Inmate activist George Lester Jackson’s short life became a flashpoint for revolution, igniting the bloodiest riot in San Quentin’s history.The 2007 film directed by Samm Styles traces Jackson’s spiritual journey and violent fate, from being sent up on a one-year-to-life sentence for robbing a gas station of $71 to galvanizing the Black Guerrilla Family.

The film’s title refers to Black August—a celebration born out of the prison rebellions of the 1970s that commemorates the activism of Black political prisoners and the legacy of Freedom Fighters who sacrificed their lives to advance Black liberation movements. Throughout history, a diversity of Black artists, activists, leaders, and intellectuals have worked tirelessly to advance the political self-determination of Africans in the Americas. 

Watch the movie.

Suppressed Speech

Malcolm X (credit:Virtual Commons)

FEATURED WORK
“The Ballot or the Bullet” by Malcolm X

“The Ballot or the Bullet” became one of Malcolm X’s most recognizable phrases, and the speech was one of his greatest orations. Delivered on April 12, 1964, at King Solomon Baptist Church in Detroit, Malcolm called for an aggressive plan for Black Americans to gain political power and move toward total control of their communities. He started a voter registration drive and advocated black nationalism as an economic philosophy. Listen to the speech.

Pitch in today.

Your donation to JusticeAid will support Black Voters Matter’s fight against voter suppression.

DONATE

Join the family.

Read up on JusticeAid events and our support for Black Voters Matter.