Local Film to Raise Awareness of Local Black Artists and Raise Funds for Youth-serving Organizations Creative Justice and Choose 180

Background

2020 has seen an awakening in both the understanding and the opposition to state-sanctioned violence. But even as people take to the streets in record numbers across the nation, we know the fight for Black liberation did not begin with BLM or George Floyd, Mike Brown, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr or the Black Panther Party. It began with the rebellions of African people throughout the so-called New World, as they fought to break the literal and figurative shackles of chattel slavery. The fight for Black liberation was and is a response to racism and its tethers capitalism and imperialism.  

But even as we have miles to go before Black lives are loved fully, Black arts have captivated the world. Our musical traditions have birthed song and dance of every genre, our speech and fashion have become the ruler by which we measure “cool.”

We know that contemporary artists do much more than create beautiful objects and places, they can offer unique and creative thinking to inspire dialogue, build and maintain community connections, and model change. For oppressed communities, these actions are often essential to the creative process. They are not intellectual exercises, they are survival strategies. Creative Justice uses the power of art to articulate the power and potential of marginalized communities.

The Film

Inspired by the poem “I, too, am America” by Langston Hughes, Who Am I is a visual poem directed by Abdi Ibrahim and Jonathan Salmon. The film is an unapologetic ode to the relationship between Black life and the art it creates by portraying 40+ Black Seattle artists of all disciplines, ages, complexions and backgrounds to highlight the authenticity of their craft.

With Who Am I the mission is to amplify and support Black voices and the various communities they come from. Who Am I is being used as a call to action to donate to a GoFundMe campaign that will financially support Black-led grassroots organizations (Choose180 and Creative Justice) in Seattle dedicated to dismantling the youth incarceration system in the region. A social media campaign will be in effect on October 1, 2020 for 50 days to raise awareness for each Black artist featured as well as to allow a wide opportunity for the community to support the fundraising campaign.

CJ’s Restitution Relief Community Fund

Creative Justice will use funds raised to support programming that provides mentorship, arts instruction and community supports for young people of Seattle-King County, including a Restitution Relief Initiative, which will establish a community fund to help those in need of assistance paying off legal financial obligations that prevent them from sealing their juvenile records. The ability to have those records sealed is often a final, insurmountable step towards a person’s court supervision in the past, paving the way for a life in which they are not obligated to the criminal punishment system and have more equal access to employment, housing and a future in which they can thrive. Learn more HERE

“‘Who Am I’” is a great partnership for Creative Justice,” says co-executive director Aaron Counts. “It’s a call to action that begins where we begin—with artists and their art. We love how it challenges us all to get to know the artists lifting up the voices of the community and to celebrate their genius. We hope folks don’t just nod their heads to the music or echo the language and style they see; we hope they challenge themselves to listen, to see, and to honor the lives of the artists, their struggles, their joys, and dreams.”

Watch and learn more about the film HERE