I’m Literally Taking It Out the Mud, a creative project, celebrates Black women’s spirit of resistance as they rebuild their lives in the aftermath of involvement in the criminal legal system. The exhibition features the stories of Black women under community supervision during COVID-19 through audio, visual, and spoken word representations, with the permission and collaboration of the participants.

ILTIOTM was hosted on Saturday, August 5th, 2023, at Old Town Hall of the Delaware Historical Society (DHS).The exhibition was executed in three distinct phases. First, we opened with the physical exhibit, five 4x7 foot custom-built walls, with ten plexiglass printed excerpts from my interviews. Attendees could take their time to engage with the exhibit and write their reflections on post-it notes. Once complete, I solicited attendees’ thoughts and questions. The second phase of the event was performances of original spoken word pieces. I performed first with pieces I had written through the process of poetic inquiry, inspired by my participants and my reflexivity concerning my research. A directly impacted woman, formerly incarcerated and under supervision, also performed during this second phase. The third phase of the event was a panel discussion featuring the women who participated in my research and other directly impacted women, where they talked about their experiences under supervision and making meaning around resistance in their supervision journey. It was a powerful demonstration of creative methodologies, especially allowing direct engagement with research participants. It amplified the tellings of Black women, showing that they have agency and shape their world. The women could directly express their stories, and issue calls to action to transform the criminal legal system. This underscored how research can be used as a political tool to bring about change in communities based on the needs of its members. 

I'm Literally Taking It Out the Mud: An Arts Exhibition Honoring Black Women’s Resistance in the Criminal Legal System with Collaborators Jane and Littleton Mitchell Center for African American Heritage, Janay Nachel, Wendell Sisnett, and Joshua Kumar. Newark, DE (August 2023)

Hosted by Behind the Walls, Between the Lines (BTWBTL). The Disaster of Injustice was for the broader public, intended to bring together diverse voices (e.g. directly impacted folks, scholars, disaster experts, advocates, etc.) to discuss the impact of COVID-19 on the carceral system and provide solutions, inclusive of reform, decarceration, abolition, and community based strategies (e.g. mutual aid and transformative justice) to mitigate and/or eliminate the harm to directly impacted individuals.

The Disaster of Injustice: COVID X Incarceration. A Virtual Roundtable Discussion Series hosted by Behind the Walls, Between the Lines (BTWBTL) with Dr. Dylan Rodriguez, Adnan Khan, Darren Mack, Keshad Adeniyi (Ife Nira), Richard Thomas, and Cheryl (Missy) Wilkins (October 2020)

#amInext was a collaborative poetry exhibition drawing attention to the frequency of Black injustice, specifically death, in America. It explored the fear of those in the Black community of being the next hashtag. The main medium used was spoken word, but we also included a variety of other art forms, including dance, visual, and other performing arts. The goal of this project was threefold: the first, to bring attention to that fear; second, to allow those of that community to have a platform to express their fear; and last, to move members of and outside the community to fight against the injustice, so that the fear is reduced, and ultimately eliminated.

#AmINext? Hosted by Behind the Walls, Between the Lines (BTWBTL) with Li, Leah James, Kevin Anglade, Zachary “Trumpet Kid” Durham, Relle the Poet, Ashley Clarke, I Am Sanovia, Folk the Artist, Kadeem Riley, Emir Fils-Aime, Quardeen Lewis-Allen, Dawud Ziyad Iman, and Topeka Sam. Brooklyn, New York (April 2016). 

In 2014, I founded Behind the Walls, Between the Lines (BTWBTL), a movement to deepen the awareness of the legacy of racial inequity in America, particularly within carceral control, and inspire activism aimed at its dismantlement. BTWBTL uses spoken word and other artistic mediums as a platform to tell stories, reclaim narratives, and activate the power of those directly impacted to catalyze change. Against the backdrop of Mike Brown’s death, Behind the Walls debuted its first showcase in Philadelphia in February 2015, featuring eight spoken word artists, poets, singer/songwriters, and visual artists. There were over 125 attendees and several community-based/grassroots organizations. Since then, BTWBTL has hosted seven more showcases, dozens of various workshops, documentary screenings, community discussions, and virtual series. BTWBTL partners with advocates, activists, and community-based and cultural organizations that demonstrate the power of arts to spark conversations about inequity and effect social change.

The power of artivism, arts-based activism, is immeasurable. Artivism is a powerful way to build solidarity across racial, ethnic, class, gender, political affiliation, and geographic lines. Artivism connects to our shared humanity and breaks down barriers in ways that statistics about injustice cannot do.  Further, artivism connects individuals with practical and tangible tools to support movements. Those directly impacted by racial injustice are not only invited into the conversation but lead the conversation and are given platforms that would otherwise not be available. Artivism is accessible – it allows individuals to reclaim and share their stories without the traditional barriers of power and privilege.

The Debut: Behind the Walls, Between the Lines. An exploration of the place where poetry and social justice collide with Tiffany Thompkins, Mydera, Lenora Magee, Miguel Huerta, Angeline Cazeau, I Am Sanovia, and David Thompson. Philadelphia, PA (February 2015).