Pictured is the community mural project hosted by the BLM chapter in Ames, IA.
The summer of 2020 was the summer that changed my life. After I attended the first march held for the passing of Mr.Floyd, something inside of me finally clicked. I was originally there to take photos, to document the history before me, but as the people began to chant, I could feel the strength in our collective voices pushing me to do more. There was an overwhelming amount of emotions coursing through my body, but the one thing that was clear to me was that I wanted to create change.
As a college student at Iowa State University, I noticed that there were no protests or events for Black Lives Matter (BLM) happening. This was odd to me as I knew we had a black population at Iowa State yet it seemed as there was no clear group to lead these events and sensitive discussions. I was sick and tired of driving 45 minutes to Des Moines to protest and use my voice, so I decided to create my own BLM chapter in Ames, IA.
“By collaborating on art, various cultures may come together in times of conflict and social upheaval to address the difficulties they face.”
At first, I had absolutely no idea how to lead this group of individuals so it was a rocky start. We all wanted to make a difference but struggled to find a structure to support our team. As our number of members began to grow, we were able to offer more to the community. Eventually, we created a Co-chair system to help the flow of Ames BLM. Being the Co-Founder of Ames BLM taught me a lot about leadership, communication, accessibility, and organization. It takes the power of many dedicated individuals to pull off the protests and local events we did.
Ames BLM was constructed with a desire to create space for our community to heal, learn, and grow together. Similar to my partner organization, Artolution, we both have the desire to uplift the voices of marginalized communities. As an artist myself, I find the power of art to be a healing tool to communicate our stories and reflect on our growth. We hosted numerous events focusing on health, mindfulness, and education. For example, we hosted drive-in movies that featured black representation and also hosted free yoga sessions to ground ourselves. Outside of this, we also hosted supply drives for group homes in the Ames community.
The most impactful event I think we did was a community mural project after the Derecho hit Iowa. Using pieces of wood that were left over from the destruction itself, we invited the community to come together and paint about the intersections of the current world. “Intersections” served as a visual artifact of 2020 and the way residents of Ames, IA have been affected by the systems that have created land hurricanes, an uncontrollable pandemic, failed leadership, and a resurgence to fight for human rights and Black lives through dismantling racist and inequitable structures. This event drew in around 50 participants that came from all ages and backgrounds. It was so beautiful to see our community connect and laugh again after a complicated and stressful year.
Image: Artolution
My partner organization, Artolution, focuses on training local arts leaders to use collaborative art-making as a tool for communities to tell their experiences to the rest of the world. By collaborating on art, various cultures may come together in times of conflict and social upheaval to address the difficulties they face. Much like our Intersections project for Ames BLM, we found a collaborative way to bring our community together to reflect on the year through art. Working with Artolution for the past five weeks has created a purpose in my life and career. I care deeply about serving the social sector and hope to continue to empower the voices of others.