Friday, February 2
6:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Indianapolis Liberation Center
Fonseca-Du Bois Gallery presented by Arte Mexicano en Indiana
James Baldwin posed the question, “How much time do you need for your progress?” Challenging American society to think against the progress narrative of history as a steady and natural progression of time effectively erasing the social movements that have made progress possible in this country.
As the planet continues to heat up and the threat of human extinction creeps ever closer, we are running out of time for the progress narrative from our elected officials to catch up to meet the needs of the working class and our fight for a better and more just world. Black revolutionaries—and the Black and African people in the U.S. in general—have fought fervently to challenge the white supremacist, capitalist, and imperialist power structure in the country.
One Indianapolis-born revolutionary features prominently in this First Friday event you don’t want to miss, as we unveil a powerful new mural of Shirley Graham Du Bois. Painted by sign-artist Edith Conchas, the mural represents the legacy on which the Liberation Center stands and provides a new revolutionary energy to the space.
Shirley Graham Du Bois was an artist, intellectual, and organizer in her own right. Her bravery encourages us in our struggle. She never cowered in the face of state repression. Her commitment to liberation, peace, freedom, and fighting anticommunism was such a threat to the ruling class that the U.S. government surveilled her constantly and even withheld her passport for years. That same commitment is why she inspires us to be as brave and fearless as she was.
Accompanying the mural are a series of prints honoring some of the many unsung Black revolutionaries in U.S. history.
Hear from and discuss with speakers about the histories, theories, and organizing of the internationalist Black radical tradition in the U.S. Learn more about the struggle for self-determinism, the movement to bring about a true democracy that represents the voices of the people, and the fight for a peaceful world.
As large cultural institutions like Newfields and the Indianapolis Public Library purge community-minded Black leadership, local artists are feeling the repression in speaking out against these glaring injustices. The Fonseca-DuBois Gallery powered by Arte Mexicano en Indiana and the Indianapolis Liberation Center celebrates the Black revolutionary tradition in our city and around the world.
