As a white-led organization, we demand to hold ourselves accountable for our role in white supremacy and the horrific history that has led our country to this moment. A moment when our black and brown neighbors fear for their life daily.
In the footsteps of the thousands of community activists who have been mobilizing since the murder of Philando Castile on Wednesday, July 6th, Pollen stands in solidarity with them and brings a commitment to do better by our community.
Our mission is to build better connected communities by breaking down the barriers of narrative, connection, and opportunity. Our work starts with empathy. Only through empathy can we connect across difference. We believe one of the biggest tools of empathy is art. It’s the art activists who capture the soul of movements.
We have cleared our editorial calendar for the coming weeks and we offer up our platform, which reaches thousands of community leaders across the state, to share the work of local artists in the wake of the Philando Castile shooting.
Next Tuesday, July 19, Pollen will publish a feature story with a roundup of selected art sent our way. We hope to hear from poets, storytellers, photographers, filmmakers, musicians, writers — any and all artists who are willing to share the work they have created in the last week.
- We want to support artists who have already created work (we know many of you have—we’ve seen it on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.).
- We’ll also review pitches if you have an idea for something you’d like to create, but we need all final content by Friday, July 15.
- Ten artists will be selected for the final feature, compensated at $200 each.
- Even if your art is not included in this feature story for Tuesday, July 19, we commit to the future publishing of the stories sent our way about Philando Castile, police violence, criminalization of black communities, social justice, and stories and images of resistance, solidarity, and resilience.
- Send all work or questions to jamie@pollenmidwest.org by Friday, July 15.
We commit to doing our part to tip conversation into action. We commit to challenging ourselves as a white-led organization. And we commit to doing more to dismantle the oppressive systems constructed by our ancestors and perpetuated by those of us with privilege. Let this not just be the work of our black and brown peers.
Sincerely,
Pollen
Inspired by Ashley Fairbanks’ call: “POC artists stepped up to do a mural about police brutality and racial injustice, it would be great if some white artists came together to do another project in solidarity.”
