Windhover + Perspectives Edition 2021 | Volume 55
Editor-in-chief: Xenna Smith
Managing Editor: Aubrey Izurieta
Design Editor: Emma Carter
Asst. Design Editor: Campbell Briggs
Literary Editor: Divi Sharma
Assistant Literary Editor: Willow Sage
Visual Editor: Camilla Keil
Audio & Video Editor: Alyssa Smith
Promotions Designer: Noah Wilde
Perspectives Project Lead: Maya Mitchall
Resources to Support Black Creatives and Learn More About Equity in the Arts
Black Lives Matter.
Windhover stands in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement and all protest efforts worldwide.
As a team and as individuals, we pledge to fight back against white supremacy, colonialism, and the racist systems that have ravaged the lives of Black communities. As a staff, we’ve been watching, listening, educating, protesting, advocating and introspectively evaluating our role as a media platform in all of this. To us, the true spirit of art is resistance and representation.
Being a creative-focused publication at a PWI, we cannot ignore the fact that nearly all forms of art would be nonexistent without people of the African diaspora. But, art industries have failed Black people, despite not being able to exist without them.
Recently, a high-end “urban” art gallery had a white artist’s sculpture looted during a protest. Despite actively displaying Black Lives Matter signage on their storefront, they went to Twitter to ask the public if they had any footage of the looter(s). This was an act of violence, they put Black-protestors at even more risk of being brutalized by police, saying that over-commodified, replaceable art is more valuable than Black lives.
This is just one example of how the creative community claims to be open-minded, but it perpetuates racism just like any other white-dominated field. We recognize this to be the unfortunate truth of our industry and are actively working to not continue this cycle of silencing Black narratives in art and culture.
We are calling for non-Black artists and creative publications to think deeply about their actions and processes. To consider whether or not they are being equitable, appropriating Black culture, giving credit where it is due, and uplifting Black artists just as much as anyone else. One cannot claim to promote creativity and support artists without ensuring they are doing everything in their power to support ALL artists equitably.
White supremacy in art is just one injustice–of many–we will acknowledge and work to rectify, this is our promise.
Resources to tackle racism/discrimination in the arts & culture communities.
The Nubian Message’s ongoing list of resources
Art Leaders of Color Emergency Fund donation link
Learn more about Black art history
Petition to support the coalition of Black NCSU organizations
VIdeo
Audio
Prose pieces continued
Snakes (cont.) – Holly Brantley
Family Business (cont.) – Michael Coombs