01:22
brontë velez Highlight
We need Black artists to help us imagine otherwise.
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.