Celebrating the artists at the forefront of a Black aesthetic renaissance and how they harness the arts to shape a freer future
In the wake of the murder of George Floyd by Derek Chauvin of the Minneapolis Police Department and the death of Regis Korchinski-Paquet during a health episode attended by Toronto Police Services in the turbulent summer of 2020, communities rose up in rage, grief, and resistance. Alongside mass protests came an outpouring of creative expression by Black artists, producing art that helped make sense of the moment and mobilize for change.
Today, as anti-Black violence persistsfueled by the rise of white supremacy and fascism, even within the highest levels of governmentBlack artists, too, persist in painting, dancing, drawing, writing, and expressing their outrage and hope.
Free to Be More honours the creative revolutionary labour of Black artists, past and present. This vibrant collection of essays, poems, images, and interviews affirms the deep connection between art and activism. More than that, its a testament to how art can amplify a movement and offer tools to gather, organize, and enact transformative interventions in anti-Black racism.
Continuing and expanding the conversation from the bestselling Until We Are Free, Free to Be More brings together contributions from Rodney Diverlus, Ravyn Wngz, Aisha Sasha John, Camille Turner, and other visionary artists to serve as both a singular creative archive and a rallying cry for future changemakers.
Arvustused
A treasure trove of creation & struggle. -- Sandy Hudson More than a book, this is your invitation to join a gathering steeped in hope. -- Dr. Natalie Wall, author of Black Expression and White Generosity: A Theoretical Framework of Race
INTRODUCTION
PART ONE: Black Arts, Abolition and Activism
Black Boots_ Britta B
DEFUND Poster SeriesAnna Jane McIntyre, Sandra Brewster, Camille Turner,
Kara Springer, Elicser Elliott, Ifetayo Alabi
Decolonial Frameworks by Black Arts Leadersd'bi.young anitafrika
She Carried with Her A Large Bundle of Wearing Apparel Belonging to
Herself.: Slave Dress as Resistance in Portraiture and Fugitive Slave
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Vagabond: On Movement and Change MakingRodney Diverlus, Syrus Marcus Ware
The Art of Step: Roots, Resistance and the Rich Culture of Step in
MontrealKayin Queeley, Natasha "Tashe" Clery, Ra'anaa Yaminah Ekundayo
From Boys to MenAnthony Gebrehiwot
Framing the North: Black Arts Beyond the MetropolisIsak Vaillancourt,
Ra'anaa Yaminah Ekundayo
Activist Wallpaper SeriesSyrus Marcus Ware
PART TWO: Our Practice//How We Create
The Spiritual ArtistWinsom Winsom, d'bi.young anitafrika
esu crossing the middle passaged'bi.young anitafrika
We GatherErica N. Cardwell, Sandra Brewster
The Zoo: Abolition, Filmmaking, Art and uprisings from 2016-2024Kyisha
Williams, Syrus Marcus Ware
Decolonize LoveKing Kxndi
NaveCamille Turner
Fugitive Sound Art: Sound as Refusal, Sound as Refugejamilah abu-bakare
Unheard Voices: Theatre and the Black Deaf ExperienceSyrus Marcus Ware,
Ra'anaa Yaminah Ekundayo, Natasha "Courage" Bacchus
LEARN TO LOVE YOUR LITTLE WHOLEAisha Sasha John
Introspective RetrospectiveRavyn Wngz, d'bi.young anitafrika
PART THREE: Living As If Were Already There
On Writing 2025: Light Years from NowSyrus Marcus Ware
The Afrofuturist Dreamscape: Black Cultural IdentityYung Yemi, Ra'anaa
Yaminah Ekundayo
The Archive as Living Entity: Notes from YamayekaKanika Gordon
Black digital angelsKim Ninkuru
Winter | Black FuturesKayode Jonathan Akande
Force and Form: doing what I cant to reshape the discourse on police
brutalityPauline Lomami
Creative Reflections
The Four QueensSimone Elizabeth Saunders
Maroon Child: Mobility of ImaginationTheodore Walker Robinson
« PHANTASY no. 3 »Ryan Ad
Ice Cream DreamsJanine Carrington
They say we cant breathe underwaterNicole Gordon
CONCLUSION
Syrus Marcus Ware is a Vanier Scholar, visual artist, activist, curator, educator, and co-founder of Black Lives Matter Canada. An assistant professor at the School of the Arts, McMaster University, he is the co-editor of the bestselling Until We Are Free: Reflections on Black Lives Matter in Canada. He lives in Tkaronto.
Dr. Raanaa Yaminah Ekundayo (ABD) is a multimedia activist scholar who co-founded and currently chairs Black Lives Matter Sudbury.
Dr. dbi.young anitafrika is an African Jamaican Dubpoet, playwright, performer, and educator. A triple Dora Award winner and author of twelve plays, seven books, and seven Dub poetry albums, they are also the founding Artistic Director of the Watah Theatre and founding Educational Director of the Black Theatre School, both located in Toronto.
