arts and design

'Sisterhood of sorrow': an art auction for families of black women killed by police

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Cardi B is among 100 artists who have contributed work for a new online auction called Show Me the Signs. The rapper used a piece of cardboard to write the names of 34 black men and women killed by the police, such as Sandra Bland, Eric Garner and Breonna Taylor in colored marker, alongside the phrase “Say Their Names”.

It’s to benefit the families of black women who have been killed by the police.

“We want to send a message that all black lives matter, you can’t say that message when you’re leaving out black women, that is essentially what #SayHerName is all about,” said Shermena M Nelson, the programs director at the African American Policy Forum, which is organizing the auction. “I like to tell people, ‘it’s so much more than a hashtag,’ but I don’t want to take away from her hashtag. You have to know this is happening.”

The funds raised from the online auction on Artfizz, which closes on 30 November, will go to the AAPF’s #SayHerName Mothers Network, which helps provide housing, legal fees and other costs for the mothers of women who have been killed by the police.

“There’s a cost to death, it goes beyond funeral expenses,” said Nelson. “When you lose someone tragically, it changes the entire structure of your family. There are costs that come with that, financial or mental health costs. We try to fill in the gaps as much as we can.”

Cardi B - Sign of the Times, 2020
Cardi B – Sign of the Times, 2020. Photograph: Show Me The Signs

Many of the artworks are protest placards, like one that reads “Stop Killing Black People” by Billie Eilish, another reading an Angela Davis quote in an artwork by singer Bruno Mars. Other artists who are part of the auction include renowned artists Jim Carrey, David Hockney, Rashid Johnson, George Condo and Marilyn Minter.

Some of the mothers whose daughters have been killed by the police speak up in a recent video created by the AAPF. It shows the women who are part of the #SayHerName Mothers Network, which was founded in 2016. It also functions as an open letter to the mother of Breonna Taylor. “They call it a sisterhood of sorrow,” said Nelson.

Fran Garrett, the mother of Michelle Cusseaux, who was killed in 2014 after being confronted by officers at her Phoenix home, speaks to all mothers in need, when she says: “We’re supporting each other and extend our arms, extend the olive branch to you, we are here for you in a time of need.”

Shelley Frey was killed outside of a Walmart in Houston in 2012, after allegedly shoplifting. She was shot in the neck with her two children in the car. Frey’s mother Sharon Wilkerson speaks in the video, as well, on how the network has helped her. “I don’t have any biological sisters, but these are my sisters, and we understand each other’s pain, we have true sister love,” said Wilkerson.

Doron Langberg - Queer Black Lives Matter, 2020
Doron Langberg – Queer Black Lives Matter, 2020. Photograph: Show Me The Signs

The network has helped this community of mothers turn their grief into activism. “It’s a model for the social movement around the world,” said Nelson. “By using their stories to inform advocacy and inform change, we want to make sure they’re provided for, so the mothers network has an emergency fund.”

The other artworks included in the auction includes a piece by Brooklyn artist Doron Langberg, whose artwork reads “Queer Black Lives Matter”, in a rainbow, calling to mind the pride flag.

“Being a queer artist, I wanted to be in solidarity with those who are impacted by both racism and homophobia,” says the artist. “Color is a big part of my work, so I included the rainbow as a reference to the pride flag and a symbol of hope and beauty.”

The Los Angeles artist Delia Brown is also auctioning off a piece that features the names of black women who have been killed by the police, in cursive script, accompanied by their ages, which range from 26 to 72 years old. At the bottom of the artwork, it reads: “I shouldn’t know their names.”

“It’s difficult to make an ‘artwork’ about something as insidious and shameful as the trend of senseless deaths and lack of justice experienced by the families of these girls and women,” said Brown. “So, I let the statistic speak for itself: in a five-year period, only two officers were charged in the killing of 48 innocent girls and women – who they were supposed to ‘serve and protect’. No one should find this acceptable.”

The sales will help fund the financial, health and legal fees at the Mother’s Network. “We provide food, clothing, housing, legal assistance, back to school funds and ‘angelversary’ gifts,” said Nelson. “We’re now able to do that.”

The AAPF recently learned of a mother who received a bill from a city municipality for the disposal of the car in which her daughter was killed.

Fulton Washington (Mr. Wash) - Butterfly Flutter, 2020
Fulton Washington (Mr Wash) – Butterfly Flutter, 2020. Photograph: Show Me The Signs

“There was a time where there wasn’t enough engagement, and now, we have donors and things like ‘Show Me the Signs’ helping the Mother’s Network,” said Nelson.

It has been six years since the AAPF’s executive director, Kimberlé Crenshaw, first coined the phrase #SayHerName, as a response to the killing of Cusseaux. “From there, we started doing research on how we could get involved,” said Nelson.

“Since 2014, we have used it as the frame to draw attention to the vulnerabilities and consequences of state violence against black women,” she adds.

“It has had more engagement, due to the unfortunate killing of Breonna Taylor. It’s really important for us to elevate these stories for people to know who these black women are and why they suffered at the hand of police.”

The additional funding from the auction will help the AAPF grow the Mothers Network by bringing more women who are in need, into the fold.

“There is hope that the funds will help, but what would help even more would be if there’s a stop to this, if there were no need for it,” said Nelson.

“The hope is to increase amplification as well, with participants in the movement,” she adds. “The more that happens, the more people learn, the greater our chances to end this.”

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