Altar - Black Lives Matter

By: Mary Hall-Williams

This Ofrenda has at its center the theme of healing as a radical act of resistance. I made it in response to the recent murders of Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery. In an aspirational sense I wanted to find images of blackness that were humanizing and portrayed a people as human, regal, and worthy of protection. I juxtaposed these images with artistic renderings of a few of the men and women that have lost their lives to police violence and white supremacy. Additionally, I placed dandelions to represent wishes for well being, health, protection, and healing, twinkly lights as stars to represent ancestors, and the black panther party who did work organized work in communities and stood against police violence. My altar serves as a dialectic referencing grief and injustice while also holding space for beauty and healing.  I represented the elements as follows:

- Fire: Candles 

- Air: Dandelion images that represent prayers in the wind

- Water: there's a dish of water on the top level, representing longing for those lost, for healing, for connection to our ancestors. 

- Earth: I have a bowl of dirt, as well as a plant, and an image of Yemaya.