This is more than a T-shirt. ‘This is my way of protest.’ – IndyStar

Black artists are painting murals on Indianapolis businesses that have been boarded up after riots in late May. Three talk about their work. Indianapolis Star

Corrections & clarifications: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated the manner of George Floyd's death.

The Monday after George Floyd was killed inpolice custody in Minneapolis, Turae Dabney was on a staff call. She had yet to process what happened to George Floyd, and speaking about her everyday reality as a Black woman in front of faces that didnt look like hers was overwhelming.

I didnt realize how much I had been carrying for so long, she said.

Her colleagues asked her how their organization should respond.

Dabney didnt know.

I need a minute, she told them.

Dabney realized where she sat as the executive director of People for Urban Progress, a design organization centering civic sustainability, and the power she had.

I had to step back and think about how I could use my platform to continue this conversation, she said.

But she wanted more than a social media post about racism.

Our response cant be superficial because this is not a superficial issue, she said. Its systemic.

A model wears a T-shirt from People for Urban Progress's new Ignitor line. Artist Byron Elliott designed the T-shirt to represent racial unity.(Photo: People for Urban Progress)

Then she got the idea for the Ignitor line, which launchedthis month, and features backpacks made from repurposed materials and T-shirts depicting unity. Part of the sales from the line will go to a new PUP fellowship to support inclusivity in the Indianapolis design community.

PUP wanted to emphasize underrepresented voices in its new line and reached out to Byron Elliott, a Black artist and the founder of the faith-based lifestyle brand Blacksheep Collective, to design the T-shirt.

Elliott said his design was inspired by the national conversation about racial inequity. In his community, Elliott has seen Black people suffer from systemic oppression and both overt and covert racism.Now that cellphones can captureproof of police brutality, he said, the reality of racial inequity is undeniable.

When youre faced with proof and with truth, you have two choices, he said. You can ignore it and go back to whats comfortable for you. Or you can do something about it.

The T-shirt he designed is his way of doing something to promote empathy and change, he said.

This is my way of protest, Elliott said. This is how I start a conversation.

A T-shirt from People for Urban Progress's new Ignitor line is draped over a mannequin. Artist Byron Elliott designed the T-shirt to represent racial unity.(Photo: People for Urban Progress)

The T-shirt depicts two hands of different shades coming together to form a heart. In the center of the heart is the Indianapolis flag. Elliott said the illustration conveys the importance of recognizing and respecting differences in one another while seeing the similarities.

Were all human, and we love and fear and have families and are trying to get by, he said. This shirt is designed to promote that, to help us see each other as human beings and brothers and sisters trying to share this planet.

When someone sees another person wearing the T-shirt, Elliott said he hopes they challenge themselves to ask difficult questions about race and to continue the conversations about race Elliott wants to spark.

He said he also hopes people will imagine their own hands as the ones in the illustration.

You can get the idea of whats being conveyed, but theres still enough room for you to inject yourself, Elliott said. Thats the power of symbolism and illustration.

A model carries a backpack from People for Urban Progress's new Ignitor line. Part of the sales from the line will go to a new PUP fellowship to support inclusivity in the Indianapolis design community.(Photo: People for Urban Progress)

The Ignitor backpacks are made from black pool coverings donated by a national pool company. Each backpack is made by hand at the PUP headquarters on the west side of Indianapolis, where employees unravel rolls of pool covering, cut them and stitch them into backpacks. Dabney said it takes a day and a half to cut one batch of 10 backpacks and a week to sew a single batch.

Dabney said the backpacks continue PUPs tradition of creating products from salvaged materials. The organizations first project in 2008 transformed 13 acres of Teflon-coated fiberglass from the demolished RCA Dome into wallets, purses and messenger bags. The PUP Stops project involved turning old Bush Stadium seats into IndyGo bus stop seating. Their Amtrak Collection included backpacks, bags, wallets and accessories made of leather from Amtrak train seats.

We need to see ourselves as citizens and not just consumers, Dabney said. And part of that is understanding the purpose of reuse and using design to fit the needs of our community.

Promotional materials picture a new backpack from People for Urban Progress's Ignitor line. Part of the sales from the line will go to a new PUP fellowship to support inclusivity in the Indianapolis design community.(Photo: People for Urban Progress)

The final piece of the Ignitor line is raising funds for an in-house design fellow from an underrepresented community to use the PUP platform and resources for their work. The PUP fellow will be tasked with creating a design project that benefits the Indianapolis community and incorporates the ideas of repurpose and reuse.

Dabney said she wants the fellowship to identify and uplift underrepresented designers and make Indianapolis more aware of their work. Eventually, she said she hopes the designers included around their table look like the community they serve.

Theres a difference between diversity and inclusion, she said. Diversity is inviting someone to the dance. Inclusion is asking someone to dance with you. We need to do both to ensure equity and inclusion at the table.

Ignitor T-shirts, which cost $28 and come in sizes XS and XXL, can be found on the PUP website and at Silver in the City at its stores on Massachusetts Avenue in downtown Indianapolis and on Main Street in Carmel. The backpacks, which cost $225 each, can be found on the website.

Contact Pulliam Fellow Christine Fernando at cfernando@gannett.com.

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This is more than a T-shirt. 'This is my way of protest.' - IndyStar