un :: fade :: able
2019 Tuesday Readings :: 2/12 • 3/19 • 7/16
Art Share LA :: 801 E. 4th Place, Los Angeles, CA. 90013
Loyola High School :: 1901 Venice Blvd., Los Angeles, CA. 90006
July 13th, 2015 marks the day Sandra Bland, a 28-year-old Chicago-area woman, was found dead in her Waller County jail cell in Hempstead, Texas. Officials say she used a plastic bag to hang herself, a finding her family has questioned from the very beginning. Because of the united work of an outpouring of people and community organizers, Brian Encinia, the arresting officer, was fired and charged with perjury.
2019 Series
As we enter the fourth year of the passing of Sandra Bland, it is important to meditate not only on the atrocity surrounding the circumstances of Sandy’s death but how this and her legacy is to persevere. The recent HBO documentary sheds light on many frustrating details of a mishandled situation, but the film firmly reminds viewers of Sandy’s dedication to racial equality through understanding and passing on life lessons to all who would listen. And so, when I think about all she did in her short lifetime, what comes to mind is the old adage: “each one teach one.” This year we continue to take up her causes, focusing on how we are educating through the written word. As an educator and a writer, I consider a host of questions regarding Sandy’s legacy:
In the face of erasure, how have we learned to keep ourselves and those we love safe?
How am I questioning privilege (especially my own) and ensuring equality for the voiceless?
When the time comes, how will I use my words as a means to actively effect change?
What lessons have been offered to me that I need to pass on to students or our loved ones in general?
Invitation to Add Your Voice FOR and WITH Sandra Bland
I offer these questions to you as an invitation to share your work at these events. This year, Rocio Carlos and BA Williams re-join me as curators. They will host the final reading, an all women reading. If you are interested in that event in particular, please contact them directly (email addresses are in the recipient header). I am proud to announce that this year one of the un::fade::able readings will be held at my school, Loyola High of Los Angeles as part of their social justice week.
February 12th 7 pm -9 pm @ Art Share LA
March 19th 6:30 pm - 8:30 pm @ Loyola High School
July 16th 7 pm -9 pm @ Art Share LA (Host: Rocio Carlos and BA Williams; women readers only)
un::fade::able is an effort to keep Sandra Bland's voice & legacy alive through education, music and poetry, all revolving around topics of: the safety of black lives, the criminal justice system, and police brutality. This is the second chapter in our Sandra Bland requiem which began in 2016. Art Share LA will host this poetry reading series and workshops, curated by F. Douglas Brown, Rocio Carlos and BA Williams. They are assisted by a team of educators, community organizers, poets and musicians who will never forget the events that took the life of Sandra Bland, and that continue to scourge our communities. In her name, we act.
Why un::fade::able?
un :: the reverse; untruth; unrest; cancellation; lacking; non
fade :: to gradually grow faint, lose freshness or intensity, wither
able :: having power, opportunity to do something, considerable intelligence
For More Information
www. artsharela.org or email: browntown.poetry@gmail.com
Past Events
Vol. 4 July, 2016 - Requiem for Sandra Bland