Environmental Justice

Ricardo Levins Morales, American, born 1967

Environmental Justice, 2014

Levins Morales invokes The Great Wave off Kanagawa (1831), riddled with oil drums and other trash in his depiction of the burdens facing marginalized communities in the U.S., specifically evoking sea level rise and water pollution as two dominating forms of environmental injustice. As water pollution remains a paramount concern across Virginia be it to marginalized communities due to the construction of natural gas pipelines, historical mercury release, or damage to the Chesapeake bay due to agricultural runoff, this image is significant amongst environmental justice and climate justice- based activist or interest groups in Virginia. Label by Frank Kennedy

Browning of America

Jaune Quick-to-See Smith, Salish and Kootenai Nation, born 1940

Browning of America, 2000

Reading about the struggles of indigent, marginalized communities (especially communities of color) reminded me of this piece by Jaune Quick-to-See Smith, which is an aesthetic censure of America's nationwide environmental exploitation and historic neglect of underrepresented narratives. Although “browning” can be used to refer to the ecological deterioration and pollution, Smith reclaims and invigorates this term, using it to allude also to the undeniable presence of demographic diversity. Her work celebrates the histories and geographies of Indigenous peoples through pictograms and red stains that sweep across the borders of America. In conclusion, it is important to recognize that many neighborhoods that are ostensibly wealthy may hide a dark past of white flight, urban decay, and redlining. Environmental justice teaches us never to take anything at face value, and when it comes to implementing meaningful change, as these articles demonstrate, policymakers are often faced with the choice of doing what is easy versus doing what is right. Label by Tara Vasanth

Ballet Performance at Robert E. Lee Monument

Ava Holloway & Kennedy George, American

Ballet Performance at Robert E. Lee Monument, 2020

In the wake of global Black Lives Matter protests, teenage ballerinas Ava Holloway and Kennedy George repurposed space with their bodies, which were historically seen as inferior to that of Richmond’s infamous Confederate monuments. A joyous expression of black life and solidarity amidst the now colorfully spray-painted statue of Robert E. Lee, the two friends were captured in a spontaneous photo session by freelance photographer Julie Rendleman. The photo quickly proliferated on social media, spurring performances in front of other polarizing monuments and promoting Brown Ballerinas for Change, a nonprofit that seeks to increase the participation of underrepresented girls in ballet. This act of vitality stands against and with the reality of inhabiting a body of color today—amidst shouts of “I can’t breathe” and the surge of bodies taking to the streets during a pandemic, the simple act of girls moving in a way that brings them joy is a profound form of resistance. Label by Kristin Rheins

This photo shows two Black ballerinas, Ava Holloway and Kennedy George, posing on the Robert E. Lee statue in Richmond Virginia shortly after Governor Northam announced its pending removal. Shown en point in black tutus, with the backdrop of the graffiti covered pedestal, raising their fists in the Black Power sign, the two young women radiate power and strength. This is part of a total reclamation of this space that has been ongoing during the protests in Richmond. What was once a symbol of power and oppression is being transformed into a space that is open to all Virginians. Ultimately this image is both powerful and hopeful at the same time. Label by Savannah Singleton

Reclaiming the Monument

Dustin Klein, American

Reclaiming the Monument, 2020

The projections on Richmond, Virginia’s Robert E. Lee’s monument began in early June 2020 at the initiation of Dustin Klein, a graphic-visuals artist. The images are in black and white. While figural representations of figures like George Floyd and the Power Fist cover the monument’s pedestal, the horseback figure of Robert E. Lee himself is silhouetted entirely except for the illuminated letters BLM, an acronym for “Black Lives Matter.” Inspired by the Black Lives Matter protests that emerged during the Covid-19 pandemic in response to the police murders of George Floyd and other African-American victims, the projections seek to illuminate Black history of victimhood, resilience, and revolution. Calling attention to the plight of past and present Black Americans, Klein also projects images of Harriet Tubman and Frederick Douglass—relating undisputed icons of American liberty with the contentious present of police brutality in the United States. Label by Hannah London