Kentucky Black Writers Collaborative Coordinator Claudia Love Mair says Breonna Taylor will be remembered at Saturday’s event, along with all of the Black men, women, and children killed at the hands of police.
The opportunity to gather, grieve, and heal is called At the Clearing, a reference to Toni Morrison’s book Beloved, from which Mair will read an excerpt.
"Baby Suggs gathers men, women, and children to the clearing, which Morrison describes as a wide open space cut deep in the woods. In the clearing, the people Baby Suggs has drawn together can freely laugh and dance and cry without judgement or fear of punishment, and as they are affirmed and empowered, they are healed by the balm of her words."Claudia Love Mair, Coordinator, Kentucky Black Writers Collaborative
Mair says a spectacular art installation by Kiptoo Tarus will be unveiled, and the community can add to it by writing their thoughts, prayers, mantras, poems, or protests. Dr. Shauna Morgan will read an original song created for the event and Markus Wilkerson will perform original music.
"This is not just for people who are in the Kentucky Black Writers Collaborative. This is for anyone who cares about social justice. I want us to gather, I want us to remember, and I want us to move on with some sense of resilience and triumph–that we are not giving up on the fight for justice . . . This is about us. This is about gathering together to strengthen ourselves as a community–as the Black community, as the arts community–It's about us, and us trying to heal. Now the keeping in mind, putting the pressure on the police and government officials, that's kind of a secondary gain. The main thing is that we're gathering to be together. We're gathering to remember her [Breonna Taylor] and to remember all of our fallen at the hands of the police."Claudia Love Mair, Coordinator, Kentucky Black Writers Collaborative
At the Clearing is at the Carnegie Center for Literacy and Learning, this Saturday night at 7:00pm. Facial coverings are recommended, food and drink will be served, and the event is free and open to the public.
For more information, visit the Carnegie Center’s website or contact Claudia Love Mair at claudia@carnegiecenterlex.org.
