You need to see this Seattle artist's '2017 Racial Justice Calendar'
/Sharon H Chang is a Seattle-based writer and activist, and she has made a genuinely inspiring calendar.
I'm not sure I'd have thought that was possible a few days ago, but Chang's "2017 Racial Justice Calendar" is a remarkable look at the year ahead through a non-colonial, non-white-dominant lens. It features her own original activist photography, mostly from the Seattle area, and manages, simply by listing anniversaries, to give a thorough, holistic look at the recent and semi-recent history of racism in America.
"The calendar is a monthly/daily reminder to wake up and stay woke," Chang wrote on her GoFundMe page, where a donation will get you a signed, handmade calendar. "It includes over 150 names of Black lives lost due to police violence the last half decade, some of my movement photography from 2016, and pivotal racial (in)justice events to remember from near-to-distant history such as Hurricane Katrina, the Flint Water Crisis, #NoDAPL and Kaepernick Anthem Protest. As a writer, scholar, activist it's the calendar I wanted for my wall and the one I couldn't find anywhere else."
Did you know the TPP was signed on Feb. 4, 2016? Or that the original "Birth of a Nation" premiered on Feb. 8, 1915?
In June, we'll commemorate Medgar Evers' murder (1963), Thurgood Marshall's appointment to the Supreme Court (1970), the Charleston Church Shooting (2015), Nixon's declaration of a "War on Drugs" (1971), Juneteenth, plus the Chinese Railroad Workers' Strike (1867), Little Bighorn (1876), and Bree Newsome's removal of the Confederate Flag in South Carolina (2015).
Nov. 23 is labeled "THANKS-TAKING," and the 24th is "BLACKOUT FRIDAY." Chang even managed to get some of the super-recent highlights at Standing Rock, including the denial of the easement on Dec. 5.
It's an incredible thing. I feel like I will learn so much through this calendar this year. Honestly. You should take a look.