A digital magazine centered in the radical spirit of resistance and hope across the Black diaspora.
This Week, from BLE: Chicago
Bless, a poem by E'mon Lauren
BLE Chicago Music Collective
Gentrify Series: A Home for a Home.
BLE Chicago Music Collective’s
“Luv U Like, U Were Me” (Mixtape Coming Soon)
Check out a chant and second single from Black Life Everywhere’s upcoming freedom mixtape. Special shoutout to Studio Shapes for hosting this creative and liberating space.
by Alicia Kamil
“I wrote this piece around gentrification in Chicago. This then trigged the idea to start a series documenting/commentating on the racist institutional devices that tragically are imbedded within our city. Words hold power, and I want to use mine to further the foundational conversations about what we can do to heal our city, take it back from our oppressors & exist in our Black liberated & abolitionist based future.”
Black Things Today: Proof Of Concept
By Johnae Strong
“Black Things Today” documents the story of the Betty Shabazz International Charter School "Village" through the eyes of three recent alum who are on a mission to carry on the legacy of their Pan African upbringing in Chicago.
Qurissy is the creative for creatives
Check out how Qurissy’s image making evoke’s familiarity and authenticity in her work that celebrates Black Life, Everywhere.
by Qurissy
Chicago, a crafty caucus, we cocooned in. a kid’s folded cot and cubby. we the poster childs. the classes, the pastels and pastillage. we be born here. we burn the bridges, the borders. the blues, crossing and cutting, our lines, a Van Gogh. our skyline, a Monet we walk through. we paint the sky. our businesses, a bristled brush. a wave check in our back pockets. bless the waters. bless the running blocks and bodies. bless this city, this midwest spill, a tarp on the plains.
Check out our final installment from Black Life Everywhere’s upcoming freedom mixtape.
Last Week from BLE: Chicago
Short Films about Chicago
by Sarah Oberholtzer
A Love Letter to Chicago’s Black Womxn
This love letter demands a softness and beauty for the Black womxn of Chicago. After an inhumane Chicago Police Department raid of a Black woman's home, Sarah Oberholtzer created this piece as a salve for the Black womxn in their life, most of whom seemed widely heartbroken & traumatized by the viral video shared of the raid. The piece also offers a call to action to donate to the Black Girl Freedom Fund, which is a campaign to mobilize $1 billion of investments in the leadership, wellbeing, joy, artistic genius, and power of Black girls and gender-expansive youth. Learn more about the find at 1billion4blackgirls.org.
Memory, an animated short
"Memory," a rotoscope animation short, asks how small moments in our lives have lasting impacts that shape our sense of self and how we interact with the world. In the ways that a point in time can reach far beyond itself into the present day, this film catches a glimpse of that phenomenon.
Alive, a film made made during the interim of counting votes
A visual poem of resiliency and reminders, "Alive" reminds audiences of the grace and beauty inherent in life despite the potential chaos of the world around them. Sarah Oberholtzer created this piece during the interim of waiting to hear the official announcement of the United States presidency in 2020. In the waiting, they created a reminder to themselves and a reminder to those around them that, no matter what we can still celebrate moments of joy.
We were Transformed, but was the World? Reflecting on a Decade of Black-led Movement
by Asha Ransby-Sporn
The Black Lives Matter era re-shaped a generation’s understanding of Black identity and politics, but it was also deeply disappointing. Now, a new chapter of Black political organization is needed to win the transformative change we envisioned.
Previously, from BLE: Chicago
Chicago based artist Dwight White straddles the line between fine art, sociology and experiential design. In this piece, Dwight collaborated with the Chicago community to honor and celebrate Juneteenth. It was created during the Something I Can Feel art gala in Chicago as a way to immerse everyone in the arts regardless of their level of expertise in the practice.
To hear more about Dwight’s practice, process and what went into creating this mural, check out this personal video from the artist.
Hear from our local co-editor Damon Williams and the BLE Chicago Music Collective lead a liberation chant that has been used as an affirmation in many local Chicago direct actions, organizing meetings and community building spaces. The chant titled “Beautiful” uses rhythmic tones that are dedicated to the praise of liberation, justice, and freedom, especially from institutional and systematic oppression. Freedom songs and liberation chants are inherently political. Many local chicago organizers encourage their members to sing and chant at every protest, gathering, and demonstration. They center ourselves in a turn-up styled, rhythmic, call and response griot tradition that allows them to bring their voice, bodies and entire beings into the space. In other words, freedom songs are how we tap into the healing, joy and spirit work of our time. Look out for more freedom songs and liberation chants to be released by the BLE Chicago Music Collective.
Introducing: Black Life Everywhere Chicago Music Collective
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