Solidarity Statement

Our community is collectively mourning the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Sean Reed, Tony McDade, and the countless black lives that have been lost at the hand of police brutality and white supremacy. We stand in solidarity with the Black community.

Art by Kalaya’an Mendoza @kalamendoza

Art by Kalaya’an Mendoza @kalamendoza

As a community, as artists, and as cultural workers, we at Balay Kreative will not remain silent in acknowledging our community has a lot of work to do in fighting anti-blackness. Anti-Blackness is embedded in our cultures as Filipina/o/x Americans, and it is our duty to actively do the work to heal this within our communities so that we do not remain complicit. The culture that our Filipina/o/x American community has learned to embrace was built by the black community, and by black expressions in retelling and reclaiming their narratives as oppressed peoples. Our participation in Hip Hop and black cultures cannot be shallow, and our silence in anti-black violence must end. We remind ourselves that our rights and freedoms cannot come at the expense of Black Lives. 

We remind our community that there are many ways to engage in anti-racist action, whether you are an artist, a healer, an activist, a community leader, or community member. For resources on multiple ways to take action we are sharing the following resources. As the needs in the movement will be dynamic, we remind everyone that action will not have one simple answer, and we ask you to follow these organizations and keep up to date.

We also ask you to stand with us as we hold ourselves, families, and our communities accountable; that these messages are not performative, and that we are constantly reflecting and learning different ways to be part of this fight. 

Isang bagsak!

In kapwa,
Balay Kreative

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