brontë velez

About brontë

• I’m from Atlanta, Georgia.
• Growing up, I went to schools that were focused on the arts.
• After realizing that I didn’t want equal economic status in a system that perpetuates harm, I decided to become a public servant and find alternative ways to live without standard wealth.
• The commemorative justice work I do now started with holding ceremonies in Atlanta to hold space for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and other Black people who have been assassinated.
• I was moved and inspired by Mexican artist Pedro Reyes’ projects in which he transformed weapons into shovels and instruments—I wanted to share this ritual in the United States.
• I collaborated with a friend to create Lead to Life, a collective devoted to Black wellness and racial justice—we also turn guns into shovels and other ritual items.
• In addition to my work with Lead to Life, I also teach for Weaving Earth, a school for nature connection and ancestral art skills.