In 2020, I joined a group of high school students in my town who were organizing to raise funds for those unfairly jailed during the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests. We sold portfolio pieces and protest art, and raised over $1,000 for projects benefitting the Black Lives Matter movement.

Along with portfolio pieces, I contributed acrylic portraits of victims of police violence and tee shirts with the portraits printed on them, as well as an embroidered rendering of Negro Matapaco, a dog who defended protesters in the streets of Santiago, Chile. The portraits included Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, Sean Reed, George Floyd, and Tony McDade.

I led the collective during my senior year of high school in 2021 but was forced to abandon the project when I left for college. I am always looking for young artists who are willing to continue Artists for BLM’s legacy!