Silvia Gonzalez Scherer

"Black Lives Matter" protests and solidarity commitments worldwide have unleashed a myriad of literary works and art. As the streets fill with calls for justice, artists are expressing their own outcry using their artistic instruments. They must, for if they did not, humanity learns little from historical events.

Last year Adrian Hughes placed second at HMTCs Hanford Monologue Slam with a monologue of black experience. I thought of him when the movement began because the content of his monologue fits the stream of todays protests.

I also thought about my father-in-law who worked with Jessie Jackson in Operation Push during the 1960s. If he were alive today, he would write an essay comparing Operation Push, and the civil rights movement of back then, to todays movement for racial justice.

A societal crisis becomes fodder for artists. Artists will decipher, analyze, compare, contrast, and use their art to voice their point of view. As well, art has longevity. Especially art that describes the human condition. As the crowds fade away, the art will stay.

History books will include the current events factually and analytically. Artists will use their art to elicit emotions. Emotions from the heart and soul is often the core of art.

Kudos to those artistic institutions who have put in their programming Black projects as a response to societal pleas for action. I applaud Portland Center Stages The Community Voices Project as a new initiative to highlight Black artists at their website. They plan on exhibiting more artists routinely.

Original post:
HMTC This Week: Protests create literary works and art - Hanford Sentinel