Creatives stand with the Black community in the fight against racism

Black Lives Matter
(Image credit: Future Owns)

Black Lives Matter may not be trending as much as in recent months, but creatives haven't forgotten the importance of the work that needs to be done. The creative community is continuing to work together to produce fundraising projects, tributes, events and art in response to the history of violence and oppression towards Black people. Some professionals are harnessing their positions to make positive moves to amplify Black creatives within the sector. It is an ongoing project, which needs to stay at the forefront of the industry in order to enact real change.

This article pulls together examples of all the ways creatives are working for the cause, and ensuring the issue doesn't get sidelined. We are committed to being a part of the movement, and we will ensure we continue to amplify Black voices to help make Creative Bloq and the creative industry a more inclusive space for Black communities. 

Please feel free to get in touch with any suggestions or relevant news – we plan to keep this page regularly updated. Let's start with a list of some very worthy causes that are working right now in this fight.

Where you can donate

Black Lives Matter: Fundraising and funding projects

Artists and designers are creating work and collaborating for fundraising projects, and funds have also been created specifically to assist Black people working in the creative industries. Here are some inspirational examples.

A post shared by Dong-Ping Wong (@dongpingwong)

A photo posted by on on Jul 17, 2020 at 11:03am PDT

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Our Freedom Fundraiser has now come to a close. We would like to extend our heartfelt gratitude to everyone who participated, contributed, or supported this project in any way - THANK YOU! Together we have raised £213,200.00 since our emergency launch in June, which has helped provide crucial support to over 26 global organisations & individual causes within the Black Lives Matter movement. None of this would have been possible without the support of you, our Earth Issue community. We give thanks to every artist who generously donated their work, everyone who has bought a print, shared our posts or helped spread the word. This experience has been a beautiful confirmation in the power of community, and our ability to rally together in times of need. Our intention with this print sale was to raise bail funds for the Black Lives Matter movement during the George Floyd protests, and for the 4Front Project in London. As the overwhelming response far exceeded our initial expectations, we expanded to include support for other causes recommended by our readership: Covid19 relief for vulnerable communities, therapy and legal fees for women and children of colour, food security, and urgent support for First Nations communities. Swipe to see the full list of organisations & individual causes we have donated to. Our work is not over, and in the coming days we will be reflecting further on how to ensure meaningful and ongoing allyship within our collective. We pledge to continue using our platform to amplify black voices through art and activism. We pledge to continue our fight against all forms of racism and violence and against people of colour.
 We pledge to give social justice a central role in our conversation about intersectional eco-activism in the art world, and to keep learning and educating ourselves on how to be better allies. We pledge to create a safe and welcome space to all people of colour. We look forward to sharing many exciting new projects with you in the coming days. To stay updated, keep an eye on our Instagram page, or sign up for our newsletter. For collaborations & submissions, please visit the link in our bio 👆🏽 The Earth Issue

A photo posted by @theearthissue on Jul 1, 2020 at 9:39am PDT

Black Lives Matter: Amplifying artists and designers

Many creatives are collaborating to create databases of black creatives working across creative disciplines in order to promote their work and give consumers/employers easily accessible information. Others are open for new hires, and have posted their details for creatives to get in touch.

Distinctly Creative (below) runs the Black Creatives Directory, featuring 'Black creatives worldwide in industries like fashion, art, beauty, music, creative writing, graphic design, photography, interior design, culinary, performing arts, + more'.

I’ve been taking these few months since quarantine started to reset, rest, and really map-out things when it comes to Distinctly Creative (& my design business - @_morganeliz)⁣ ⁣ ⁣ …..so as y’all can probably tell I haven’t really been wanting to do any virtual events till I had a better idea as to what that looks like for me.⁣ ⁣ ⁣ ……soooo I’m excited to be kicking it off with a FREE Zoom workshop TOMORROW from 6 PM - 7:30 PM ET as part of the @pgahc “Artpreneur Series”. ⁣ ⁣ ⁣ I’ll be going over how to create an effective (native) social media marketing strategy by going over……⁣ ⁣ ⁣ understanding/establishing your target audience⁣ brand voice⁣ brand aesthetics (photo, video, graphics, typography)⁣ market research (in regard to social media)⁣ creating a social media content calendar⁣ & assessing your social media analytics. ⁣ ⁣ ⁣ To sign-up, you can click the link in our bio⁣ ⁣ ⁣ x stay blessed @_morganeliz (fashion + graphic designer, and founder of @distinctlycreative)⁣ ⁣ [Image Description: Brown & blue Ankara fabric background with birds that includes an overlay of a tweet screenshot]⁣ ⁣ ⁣ #distinctlycreative #blackcreativesmatter #blkcreatives #blavity #acreativedc #igdc #bythings #dmvcreatives #dmvblackcreatives #blackgirlmagic #blackjoy #blackexcellence #fortheculture #buyblack #hbcu #202creates #blackartists #blackdesigners #buyfromablackwoman #buyblack #shopblack #blackowned #creativebusinesscoach #businesscoach Distinctly Creative

A photo posted by @distinctlycreative on Jul 28, 2020 at 11:05am PDT

Diversify Photo has added 300+ new members from over 40 countries to our database! Applications were reviewed by editors from The New York Times, National Geographic, The Guardian and The Wall Street Journal. Check out our website to browse all the photographers in our database: diversify.photo/where (Link in bio) If you are an editor and would like access to our private spreadsheet with more info on the photographers email us at info@diversify.photo. These members were added from our 2019 Open Call. If you are a photographer and applied to Diversify Photo in 2020, we will be reviewing those applications on a rolling basis every 3-6 months. If you are not a member yet and would like to apply, head to our website and fill out an application at diversify.photo/apply (Link in bio) We've also added a new category of photographers on the site identified as “Up Next.” After seeing the immense talent from so many photographers that might not be completely ready for full membership, but were definitely just about there and should be getting work and looks from our audience, we created “Up Next.” Their work will be featured on the website and in the spreadsheet, in a separate area from the full members. Check out the "Up Next" photographers here: diversify.photo/up-next (Link in bio) Diversify Photo is run by a small team of volunteers. If you appreciate the work we've been doing, consider donating to support our operating costs: paypal.me/diversifyphoto (Link in bio) Diversify Photo

A photo posted by @diversifyphoto on Jul 8, 2020 at 8:00am PDT

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Black Lives Matter: George Floyd tributes

Below are some examples of artists across the world who have responded to the death of George Floyd, producing tributes to Floyd in support of Black Lives Matter.

An early look at next week’s cover, "Say Their Names," by @KadirNelson. The New Yorker

A photo posted by @newyorkermag on Jun 14, 2020 at 7:10am PDT

A post shared by Banksy (@banksy)

A photo posted by on on Jun 6, 2020 at 3:30am PDT

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No justice. No peace. One of the men 4 men who killed George Floyd has been charged with third-degree murder. It doesn't feel like a victory. A man is still dead and police officers know that most of the time, there will be no repercussions for the violence they inflict. When you see this whole image, when you don't slice it up into 10 small pieces, all that's visible is one long bar. Killing after killing that goes unpunished. That's why people are still protesting *after* the news that Derek Chauvin has been charged. It's not nearly enough. Let's go back to the start and look at the 25 times that police officers supposedly had to face consequences for their actions. History tells us that even if all four men who killed George are convicted, their sentences will be generous (unlike the way the criminal justice punishes black men). Here is a breakdown of the sentences that were given those 25 times: ➖ Unknown sentence = 4 ➖ Just probation = 3 ➖ 3 months in jail = 1 ➖ 1 year in jail, 3 years suspended = 1 ➖ 1 year in prison = 1 ➖ 18 months in prison = 1 ➖ 2.5 years in prison = 1 ➖ 4 years in prison = 1 ➖ 5 years in prison = 1 ➖ 6 years in prison = 1 ➖ 16 years in prison = 1 ➖ 20 years in prison = 1 ➖ 30 years in prison = 2 ➖ 40 years in prison = 1 ➖ 50 years in prison = 1 ➖ life in prison = 3 ➖ life in prison without parole, plus 16 years = 1 Source: Mapping Police Violence (run by @samswey, @iamderay & @MsPackyetti) Mona Chalabi

A photo posted by @monachalabi on May 30, 2020 at 5:19am PDT

Black Lives Matter: Art and events

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My heart hurts too much. #justicefortoyin mooodlz

A photo posted by @mooodlz on Jun 16, 2020 at 11:29pm PDT

#blacklivesmatter ✰ ʰᵒᵉ ✰

A photo posted by @y0url0calweeb on Jun 11, 2020 at 2:07am PDT

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