Remembering Katrina: Celebrating Home
Date and time
Location
Online event
This virtual event is a remembrance of the 15th anniversary of Katrina and a fundraiser for Hurricane Laura survivors.
About this event
Remembering Katrina: Celebrating Home
In honor of the 15th Anniversary of Katrina, Maha Chielo is hosting a virtual event to reflect upon the lasting impact of Katrina and fundraise for Hurricane Laura survivors. This will be a time for Black New Orleanian artists to talk about growing up in New Orleans, their experiences with Katrina, and the ways they imagine art can preserve history and shape the future of their city. They will also discuss ways to increase access to resources for Black artists in New Orleans.
Since many tourists and artists visit New Orleans for business and pleasure, we invite people near and far to join us and hopefully foster a better sense of community and understanding between visitors and Black New Orleanians. We believe it's important for people to know the history and context of the city when they visit, and Katrina is a big part of its current state.
The panel will consist of Maha Chielo, Brandan bmike Odums, Phillip Youmans , and DAWN. We'll also have a musical performance by Mykia Jovan.
Monique Thomas, the Managing Director of Imagine Water Works will speak about the work she is doing to provide relief for Hurricane Laura survivors.
Stephanie McKee-Anderson, the Executive Artistic Director of Junebug Productions, will provide closing remarks and share a film about New Orleans.
Our partners for the event are Black Film Festival of New Orleans, WIFT Louisiana, NOVAC, New Orleans Film Society, Dream Defenders, Black Public Media, Junebug Productions, Sisters With Invoices, and The Create Daily.
This event will be a fundraiser where viewers are encouraged to donate directly to Imagine Water Works' Mutual Aid Response Network that is aiding Hurricane Laura survivors.
Here is the donation link.
September 10th at 6 pm Central. Twitch: mahachielo
You can view the event at: https://www.twitch.tv/mahachielo
You don't need a Twitch account to view it.
ARTISTS
Maha Chielo
Maha Chielo is a sex worker, filmmaker, and community organizer from New Orleans. She is the co-creator of the dark comedy series Blacklight, based on her life as a goth Black sex worker and activist in post-Katrina New Orleans.. She is a founding member of B.A.R.E. (Bourbon Alliance of Responsible Entertainers) which fights against discriminatory labor laws affecting sex workers. She has also been a member of Socialist Alternative and Justice Committee/Cop Watch. She's an avid fanfiction reader, Eazy-E enthusiast, and lover of all things dark and gloomy.
IG: @spookybadbxtch
Twitter: @spookyshabazz @blacklightontv
Vimeo: vimeo.com/blacklightpilot
Brandan bmike Odums
Brandan “BMike” Odums is a New Orleans-based visual artist who, through exhibitions, public programs, and public art works, is engaged in a transnational dialogue about the intersection of art and resistance. From film to murals to installations, Odums’ work encapsulates the political fervor of a generation of Black American activists who came of age amidst the tenure of the nation’s first Black president, the resurgence of popular interest in law enforcement violence, and the emergence of the self-care movement. Most often working with spray paint, Odums paints brightly-colored, wall-sized murals that depict historical figures, contemporary creatives, and everyday people. In his otherwise figurative work, Odums departs from realism to play with color – blending lavender to paint the skin of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King and robin’s egg blue for Harriet Tubman, for instance – suggesting an ethos of boldness that unites the subjects of his work and surpasses race, time, or any other aspect of physical reality.
After graduating from the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts (NOCCA), where he studied visual art, Odums began working as a filmmaker, creating original content through 2-Cent Entertainment LLC and directing music videos for hip hop artists like Curren$y, Juvenile, and Yasiin Bey (Mos Def). Founding 2-Cent in 2005, Odums led the collective of then college-age Black creatives in documenting and analyzing New Orleans’ changing sociopolitical landscape in the years following Hurricane Katrina through DIY satire and interviews that garnered national attention and coveted awards, including an NAACP Image Award.
Odums began experimenting with graffiti in 2012, attracted to the medium because of its decidedly temporary nature. After painting a series of murals of Black revolutionaries in the Florida Housing Development in New Orleans’ Ninth Ward, other young creatives began to flock to the location, adding their own words, images, and even movement. This underground, guerilla art hub, which Odums named #ProjectBe, is the subject of the documentary “Strong Light” by Patrick Melon.
After the Housing Authority of New Orleans shuttered the Florida Housing Development, Odums created Exhibit Be, a public art exhibition housed in a dilapidated apartment complex on New Orleans’ West Bank (this time with the owner’s permission). The largest single-site public art exhibition in the American South to date, Exhibit Be was a collaboration with over 40 artists who covered the facades of the four buildings with five-story murals and created indoor installations and found-object sculptures that spoke to the spatialized racial violence that had led to the site’s unoccupied state. The exhibition culminated in a three-day festival at which Christian Scott, David Banner, Dead Prez, Erykah Badu, Tank and the Bangas, and Trombone Shorty performed.
In 2016, Odums established Studio Be, a 36,000- square foot gallery and the final part of the Be Trilogy. Studio Be features “Ephemeral.Eternal,” his first solo exhibition that includes over a dozen original murals, several room-sized installations, and reconstructed murals salvaged from #ProjectBe before the Florida Housing Development’s demolition in 2014. The studio is open to the public 4 days a week, and welcomes hundreds of visitors from near and far weekly. Studio Be was named one of the 50 best things to do in the world by TimeOut global travel blog.
As a public artist Bmike has collaborated with important organizations, brands, and public figures including, Nike, Cadillac , Red Bull , Starz, Spotify , OnStar , Bleacher Report, Complex , Revolt TV, Amnesty International , Colin Kaepernicks’ Know My Rights Camp, Ava DuVernay’s ARRAY, Common’s Imagine Justice, New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival , Boys & Girls Club, and more.
As a public speaker Bmike has been featured on the Atlantic , Aspen Institute , TED, TEDx, he has given lectures at Princeton , Harvard, Stanford , Tulane University, NC State University, LSU, Xavier University , and more.
From Palestine to New York City’s Times Square to the San Carlos Apache Reservation in Arizona, Odums’ public murals capture his audience with the reminder that they, too, have the opportunity and the obligation to create bold histories.
Phillip Youmans
Phillip Youmans is a filmmaker from the 7th Ward of New Orleans. At 19, Phillip became the youngest and first African-American director to win the Founder’s Award for Best Narrative Feature at the Tribeca Film Festival for his feature-length debut, Burning Cane, which he wrote, directed, shot and edited during his final years of high school. Phillip is also the youngest director to ever have a feature film compete at the Tribeca Film Festival. Distributed by Ava DuVernay’s ARRAY Releasing, Burning Cane opened in select theaters on October 25th, 2019 and was released on Netflix on November 6, 2019. Phillip was nominated for a Gotham Independent Film Award for Breakthrough Director and a Film Independent Spirit Award for his work on the film. Recently, Phillip wrote, directed and edited a short film for Hulu’s Black History Month titled Imagine a Moon Colony, about a black family in 1970 Los Angeles that imagines the year 2020 through a black lens and creates abstract visuals based on their predictions.
DAWN
DAWN has been one of music’s most distinctive voices and songwriters since 2004, as a member of Danity Kane and then Diddy-Dirty Money, releasing the cult R&B classic Last Train to Paris. However, it’s as a solo artist that she’s really soared.
Across three solo albums, DAWN has honed a style of music that she describes as “genderless and genreless”.
DAWN’s 2019 album New Breed was her most successful to date. Showcasing her home city New Orleans and the Carnival Indian culture makes her latest album a one of a kind masterpiece. Her vocal and dance ability are matched with her production and songwriting skills making her one of most extraordinary talents of our time. New Breed was named as one of the year’s best albums by Pitchfork, Rolling Stone, Vogue, FACT, LA Times, Spin, Rap Up and many more. DAWN continues to push the boundaries of music and visual technology with her videos and live show, becoming the first artist to perform live in 360 on YouTube. She has also released a VR album debuted by WIRED as well as collaborated with her long time partners Adult Swim making her the first black female singer to do so. What makes DAWN a unique pop sensation and a phenomenon is that she does this all DIY. Being completely Independent with no label or team she has broken ceilings for women, POC, LGBTQ, and so many others. DAWN is more than just her music, she is a movement.
IG: @dawnrichard
Stephanie McKee-Anderson
Stephanie McKee-Anderson is the Executive Artistic Director of Junebug Productions. She is a performer, choreographer, educator, facilitator and cultural organizer born in Picayune, MS and raised in New Orleans.
She is the founder of Moving Stories Dance Project, an organization committed to dance education that provides opportunities for dancers and choreographers to showcase their talents. In 2007, she was awarded The Academy of Educational Development/New Voices Fellowship, an award for emerging leaders.
For the past 20 years, Stephanie has been involved with Junebug Productions as an artist and educator. Most recently she served as Associate Artistic Director of the first annual Homecoming Project 2011, a place-based performance project that addresses the Right of Return and what home means to communities in post-Katrina New Orleans. In 2006, Stephanie was one of ten artists who collaborated to create the original production, “UPROOTED: The Katrina Project,” co-produced by Junebug Productions.
As an artist and cultural organizer, Stephanie is deeply committed to creating work that supports social justice and aligns with the FST and Junebug legacy.
Mykia Jovan
Mykia Jovan is a vocalist and songwriter from New Orleans, Louisiana. Her distinctive voice often draws comparison to the great Billie Holiday and Erykah Badu, while her original compositions and live performance have established her as a singular voice in the modern progressive soul scene. Mykia was nominated for the 2017 Best Emerging Artist in New Orleans, her debut album named a Top 50 album of the year, and had her lead single '16 Shots' included on Spotify's official State of Jazz playlist alongside artists Christian Scott and Kamasi Washington, among others.
Mykia made her debut performance at Essence Festival 2018 performing inside the Good Vibes Superlounge with her band. Following up on her Essence Fest buzz, Mykia completed her first tour performing in Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, PA, and Brooklyn, NY as the headliner for Dopeciety’s COUCHES tour.
“New Orleans is my sound. It’s all I know. I didn’t come here to get inspired or because I heard the scene was cool and welcoming. I’m here because I couldn’t get out, because a home like this one always finds you and calls you back, because the jazz, gospel, blues, and bounce is in my blood.”
— RIGOROUS MAGAZINE
DONATIONS
The Mutual Aid Response Network is a group of Louisiana residents, led by Imagine Water Works, that activates during floods, storms, and other natural and manmade disasters. We are part of a larger network of organizers across the Deep South, connected through Project South and the Southern Movement Assembly.
Imagine Water Works is reimagining the future through art, science and human connection. The BIPOC and trans-led organization focuses on climate justice, water management, and disaster readiness and response. Donations to Hurricane Laura relief will support recovery work throughout southwest Louisiana and support the thousands of evacuees who were transported to New Orleans.
All donations to this fund will go directly to Southwest Louisiana, supporting relief efforts in the wake of Hurricane Laura.
Our commitment for the usage of funds:
-We will keep the total donation amount public — you'll know exactly how much has been raised.
-As we regrant/utilize the funds, we will share exactly where the money is going.
- We will prioritize the funding, leadership, and safety of BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color).
NOTE: If you would like to make a tax deductible donation to our work, checks can be mailed to our fiscal sponsor, Project South (EIN: 581956686). In the MEMO field, include "Imagine Water Works: Hurricane Laura Relief".
Monique Thomas
Monique Thomas is a New Orleans native who grew up in New Orleans East. She joined Imagine Water Works in 2019 and serves as Managing Director, leading the team’s organizational policy and strategic vision.
Monique graduated from Amherst College, earning a Bachelors of Arts in Sociology. She then went on to earn a Masters of Business Administration at Loyola University, with a concentration in operations and organizational behavior. Monique’s professional experience includes people operations, office administration, data analytics, and project management.
Monique is passionate about creating and supporting spaces where people feel inspired, effective, and fulfilled. In her spare time, she enjoys writing, drawing, painting, jogging (on occasion), and whatever else she can get her hands on to try something new.
PARTNERS
The Black Film Festival of New Orleans was created to ensure representation of the American film maker of color. We here at BFFNO appreciate film, television, and content from all races and ethnicities. However, this space exists with the intentionality of representing those who may have otherwise found issue having their voice recognized in a world where most evaluations are made from people who don’t look like us and therefore, don’t gravitate to, or may not fully grasp our expressions.
New Orleans is a city that currently and historically has given voice to black American artists. Our city is deep in tradition and access for artists of color. It’s only right that we celebrate our film accomplishments as well.
Over one weekend we will highlight filmmakers of color from New Orleans and throughout the United States. There will be an awards ceremony to recognize the best film and performances of the films submitted. And most importantly… there will be fun!
As a filmmaker myself I have been through this festival circuit and know the importance of a direct connection. You don’t have to be Ava Duvernay, or Spike Lee to be acknowledged and treated with the respect you and your film deserve at the BFFNO. We are dedicated to making sure that everyone who comes to BFFNO enjoys their experience, whether they are a content creator, a cinephile, or a passerby. So come on out!
WiFT Louisiana (WiFT LA) is a 501c(3) nonprofit that was founded in 2011.
Women in Film and Television International (WIFTI) was formed in 2000 and has grown to a network of 46 chapters around the world, boasting more than 14,000 members worldwide. WiFT LA was proud to be the host chapter of WIFTI from 2016 to 2018.
WiFT LA offers a comprehensive program of seminars and workshops catering to all levels and areas of the industry, to expand members' knowledge and nurture professional competency.
WiFT LA hosts networking events monthly, including "Alice Evenings," which provide an opportunity to meet other professional women in the field, enjoy each other’s company, expand our contacts, and set aside time to celebrate our skills and accomplishments.
WiFT LA produces special events, film screenings, seminars, parties and exhibitions throughout the year! As well as partnering with other regional organizations to extend professional development opportunities for its members.
WiFT LA announces discounts, resources, and other benefits on a rolling basis throughout the year.
WE BELIEVE STORIES EMPOWER COMMUNITIES, SO WE EMPOWER STORYTELLERS.
Founded in 1972 by VISTA volunteers, NOVAC’s mission remains the cultivation of independent voices and visions. For over four decades, NOVAC has provided education, training, resources, and opportunities to Louisiana’s storytellers. Our daily work connects locals in New Orleans and Baton Rouge to creative and economic opportunities, while supporting innovative and community-based storytelling projects and programs. We invite you to be part of our community of storytellers.
The New Orleans Film Society discovers, cultivates, and amplifies diverse voices of filmmakers who tell the stories of our time. We produce the Oscar®-qualifying New Orleans Film Festival annually and invest year-round in building a vibrant film culture in the South to share transformative cinematic experiences with audiences, and connect dynamic filmmakers to career-advancing resources.
Black Public Media (BPM), formerly known as National Black Programming Consortium develops, produces, funds, and distributes media content about the African American and global Black experience. Our mission is to commit to a fully realized expression of democracy and we accomplish this by supporting diverse voices through training, education, and investment in visionary content makers.
For 40 years, BPM has addressed the needs of unserved and underserved audiences. BPM continues to address historical, contemporary, and systemic challenges that traditionally impede the development and distribution of black stories.
OUR STORY
THE BEGINNING
The Dream Defenders was founded in April 2012 after the tragic killing of 17-year old Trayvon Martin by George Zimmerman in Sanford, Florida. That Spring, young Black, Latinx, and Arab youth marched from Daytona Beach Florida to Sanford Florida where Trayvon Martin was killed. With that fire in their bellies, they then went back to their communities and campuses to organize.
ONE YEAR LATER
One year later, after George Zimmerman was acquitted, the Dream Defenders occupied the Florida State Capitol for 30 nights and 31 days, demanding a repeal of the Stand Your Ground law. Although we didn’t get the law changed, we knew we had done something equally important – we had built the groundwork for a movement that would spark thousands of young people in Florida and across the country to take action. We all went back to our communities across the state ready to continue the work.
TODAY
Today, the Dream Defenders is organizing Black and Brown youth to build power in our communities to advance a new vision we have for the state. Our agenda is called the Freedom Papers. Through it, we are advancing our vision of safety and security – away from prisons, deportation, and war – and towards healthcare, housing, jobs and movement for all.
...
These are the ideas that inform our work and how we view the world.
DREAM DEFENDERS ARE ABOLITIONISTS:
We are fighting for a world without prisons, policing, surveillance and punishment. We know that prisons aren’t about safety or accountability but about control and domination over large segments of the population, especially Black people, in order to make a profit. We are different from prison reformers because reformers often create situations where incarceration becomes even more entrenched in our society. Instead, we are fighting for solutions that will produce decarceration, fewer people behind bars and a future world without prisons. This is why Dream Defenders will never fight for the conviction of a police officer: prisons are not about safety, accountability, or justice.
In order to get us closer to this vision, we must begin to build community alternatives to dealing with harm and violence. Dream Defenders practices transformative justice, an abolitionist way of dealing with conflict and holding people accountable in opposition to the punitive nature of the prison system that treats people as disposable, locks them up and throws away the key.
DREAM DEFENDERS ARE FEMINISTS:
Black feminism at its core is about fighting against hierarchy, violence, disposability and domination and for a world in which all humans – men, women and gender nonconforming people – are seen and valued.
Today, the leading cause of death for Black women ages 18-34 is death at the hands of her partner. 1 in 3 women are raped. On top of this, Black women are the fastest growing prison population. Women face violence not only at the hands of the state but also in our communities.
If we are serious about fighting for a world without prisons and police, then we must be serious about fighting against the violence women experience within our communities. Abolition isn’t just about getting rid of buildings full of cages. It’s also about getting rid of societal oppression and inequalities through punishment, violence, and controls. Black feminism is the new world we are fighting for.
DREAM DEFENDERS ARE SOCIALISTS:
The Freedom Papers is Dream Defenders liberatory socialist vision for Florida and the world. Currently, we live in a capitalist police state, where the 1 percent uses systems of domination and control to make more and more money for themselves at the expense of the rest of us. But we can live in a world where we all take care each, where everyone has what they need to live a full life, and the needs of the common good are prioritized over the selfish desires of a few. Dream Defenders itself is building an organization with socialist ideals and principles. That means, we are fighting for this world and we are actively experimenting with these concepts inside our organization in how we relate to one another.
Secondly, under Socialism, the basic human needs of all people would come first. Right now, the richest eight people in the world own as much as the poorest 3.5 billion combined. This is half of the Earth’s population! Our current economic and political system puts the property of the wealthy few, and the profits of their corporations, first. These people are encouraged to accumulate even more wealth, while 300 million children in the world go to bed hungry every night.
We are against Black capitalism because we believe that Black people as a whole will not be freed even if some of us have more money.
In a Socialist world, everyone would have a decent place to live, enough food to eat, clean water to drink, clean air to breathe, medical attention when they need it, warm clothes for the cold weather, a good education, and the ability to develop to their fullest potential. Under Socialism, everyone would be free and equal regardless of gender, race, nationality or religion. Everyone would be safe from oppression (being kept down or treated unfairly), exploitation (being taken advantage of) and war. This is the Socialist ideal.
Like many revolutionary organizations, we believe that it is not enough to simply oppose capitalism or to fight for freedom within it, but that we must be actively fighting for a new alternative. We believe that socialism is this alternative.
Socialism is different from capitalism mainly because of two basic ideas. First, Socialism is about cooperation instead of competition. Under Socialism, instead of everyone fighting for a bigger and bigger share all the time, we would all be working together to see that everyone has enough. Trust, there is enough to go around.
DREAM DEFENDERS ARE INTERNATIONALISTS:
We believe in the solidarity of oppressed groups around the world. No one can be free until we’re all free. We stand with oppressed peoples internationally and fight against all forms of racism and hate – anti-semitism, islamophobia, transphobia and sexism.
At our very first march from Daytona to the Sanford Police Department, our co-founders waved a Palestinian flag. This is because we know that although our oppression might not look the same, we are being exploited by the same systems and that in order to tear them down, we must come together. The same corporations that are building walls between Mexico and the US, are building walls in the West Bank. The same tear gas used in Ferguson is also used at the Mexico Border in Standing Rock and in Palestine. Our fight is one.
As US Americans, we live in the belly of the beast. America is an empire that uses war to expand territory and power. American wars are unjust, destructive to communities globally and do not keep our people safe locally. The military industrial complex offers massive profits to private corporations from the money we pay in taxes. They hand out massive government contracts to expand US military presence across the globe, while resources for social programs to meet the needs of working class communities in the US are crumbling.
US wars account for over 50 percent of our federal budget. We spend 9 more times on war than education and 20 more times on war than we do on social security and unemployment. Killing working people all around the world does not keep us safe. Shelter, healthcare, education, food and housing do.
We are internationalists, fighting in solidarity with the struggle of other working people around the world who make up the backbone of the global economy. We fight so that we can rid the world of poverty, war and oppression — once and for all.
Black theater matters.
Junebug Productions is the organizational successor to the Free Southern Theater (FST). In 1963, Field Secretaries John O’Neal and Doris Derby along with student leader Gilbert Moses co-founded FST to be a cultural wing of SNCC. FST went on to become a major influence in the Black Arts Movement. In 1965 FST moved its base from Tougaloo College in Jackson, Mississippi to New Orleans. The theater’s first professional tour was of Freedom School Project sites. It continued to use arts to support the Civil Rights Movement through a community engagement program and training opportunities for local people interested in writing, performing and producing theater as well as touring.
In 1980 FST produced Don't Start Me to Talking or I'll Tell Everything I Know, the first solo piece written and performed by John O’Neal featuring Junebug Jabbo Jones, a character created by SNCC members to represent and symbolize the wit and wisdom of common folk. This was the last production of the FST and the first production of Junebug Productions. In 1985 the “The Funeral of the Free Southern Theater, a Valediction without Mourning” celebrated the work of FST.
Over the years Junebug Productions has toured with three volumes of solo pieces written and performed by founding Artistic Director John O’Neal featuring Junebug Jabbo Jones including Trying to Find My Way Back Home, a new solo performance featuring John’s son, William O’Neal, as Junebug Jabbo Jones, the Younger. O’Neal has also written, produced and toured two pieces for small ensembles, Like Poison Ivy and Ain’t No Use in Going Home, Jodie’s Got Your Gal and Gone. JPI’s national touring program has also included four cross cultural collaborations: Junebug/Jack, the product of a long term collaboration with noted Appalachian theater company, Roadside Theater; Crossing the Broken Bridge, with Naomi Newman, a principal of A Traveling Jewish Theatre; Ballad of the Bones, a quartet by O’Neal and Michael Keck with Brenda Wong-Aoki and Mark Izu of the Asian American company, First Voices; and Promise of a Love Song, a three-way collaboration with Roadside Theater and the Puerto Rican company Teatro Pregones; Uprooted: The Katrina Project, a multi-disciplinary production written and performed by a diverse group of 11 Gulf Coast artists which aims to draw attention to the need for persons who have been displaced by the disaster to organize; and most recently Lockdown, written and performed by teachers, teaching artists and an attorney working in the New Orleans public school system.
As a leader in the progressive arts movement for the past four decades, Junebug Productions has worked in over 500 communities throughout the United States and has participated in several national and international festivals. Central to our community engagement work has been our National Color Line Project, a multi-year organizing project in which we use the Story Circle Process to collect stories from people who were involved with or who recognize that their lives have been significantly influenced by the Civil Rights Movement. JPI has led Color Line Projects in Dayton, OH; Glassboro/Camden, NJ; Mississippi; Flint, MI; West Palm Beach, FL and Akron, OH. In 2002, O’Neal and Theresa Holden were awarded the Ford Foundation Leadership for a Changing World Award for their work on the National Color Line Project.
The Story Circle Process is central to JPI’s art-making and community engagement work. The Story Circle Process was invented by FST members as a way to to engage with audience members following performances.
In 2008 Junebug Productions inaugurated the Free Southern Theater Institute (FSTI) named after Junebug’s predecessor, FST. The FSTI is the laboratory for the pedagogy of community-based cultural engagement and learning. It aims to marry high-quality artistic practice with a commitment to maintaining the essential relationship between culture and progressive social change through engagement with and work in communities of oppressed and exploited people. The institute’s pedagogy is is grounded in the principles and practices that have been developed and applied across the US for more than 40 years by the FST and JPI.
In 2011, Junebug Productions launched the Homecoming Project, a place-based storytelling performance series that explores the meaning of home in post-Katrina New Orleans. At its heart is the story of oppressed and exploited Black New Orleanians who share the experience of displaced populations around the world. Inspired by New Orleans vernacular art and storytelling, the performance takes on the form of the second line as New Orleans most valuable cultural landmarks are honored and celebrated through music, dance, poetry, theater, parading and masking.
In 2014, Junebug Productions produced Gomela: to return, Movement of Our Mother Tongue. In addition to New Orleans performances, Gomela has since toured to Dallas, TX, San Antonio, TX, Atlanta, GA, & Knoxville, TN.
Sisters With Invoices
SWI is a response.
Business abuse and the emotional mistreatment of marginalized creatives in front of and behind the camera are stories that are deeply interwoven into the fabric of the industry. We reject the violent non-permissive theft of Black cultural products and dismissal of African American influence on media as we know it at large. When vulnerable creatives take a hit within systems that don’t allow them to speak to their mistreatment, it can be detrimental. Our goal is to fertilize our content creators in order to see indigenous narratives sustain among a sea of products that don’t represent us, aren’t told by us and damn our character.
Reclaiming Media As A Form Of Reparations is our through line. We believe that every set, production or creative endeavour can operate from a “human-first-money-second” standard. The current standard is reinforced by a dysfunctional white supremacist top down standard. SWI believes working horizontally, media literacy and supporting Black femme and them critique. Revealing the inner workings of how the entertainment industry functions behind the scenes creates a safer future for creators and consumer awareness through a “farm to table” standard across the board.
We encourage integration and the replacement of outdated harmful terminologies in hopes of creating spaces with autonomy and respect for all.
https://www.sisterswithinvoices.com
We curate jobs and opportunities (from funding to fellowships) for underrepresented and diverse writers, filmmakers, and creators.
https://www.thecreatedaily.com
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