Over 75 artists will gather in Oakland from Oct. 3 to 5 to address issues disproportionately affecting Black women.
The Black Tulip Cultural Week of Action is a three-day event where artists from various mediums will use their talents to advocate for social change for Black women. They will address topics such as domestic violence, sex trafficking, high maternal death rates, and police brutality.
“It’s really about affirming our lives and also demanding a cultural shift,” said Anyka Howard, founder of Betti Ono Foundation, the organization sponsoring the event, told KQED. “We want to reclaim that public space and usher in an energetic force around not accepting or tolerating these conditions, especially in Oakland, especially in the Bay Area.”
Ono will have a booth at the corner of Telegraph Ave and 23rd Street on Oct. 4 during the First Friday Street Fair. She is partnering with Oakland’s Dream Youth Clinic, which provides free health services and meals to young people, and the SHADE Movement, which assists survivors of sex trafficking and domestic violence.
The event will end with a day of performances and workshops at Lake Merritt. R&B artist and activist Dawn Richard, who recently made headlines for filing a lawsuit against P. Diddy, will headline the event.
Some of the artists have first-hand experience with gender-based violence. Artist Jada Imani became an anti-violence advocate after her best friend, interdisciplinary artist Zoe Reidy Watts, was killed earlier this year, allegedly by her boyfriend. Not only has she organized a mural in Reidy Watts’ honor, but Imani is also creating a community garden dedicated to her friend.
The Betti Ono Foundation also aims to rally support for a statewide version of the Protect Black Women and Girls Act. Illinois Congresswoman Robin Kelly introduced the act in the House of Representatives earlier this year. If passed, the bill would create a task force to study disparities that Black women face in education, economic development, healthcare, employment, housing, justice, and civil rights.
Maud Alcorn, Betti Ono’s arts and culture project manager, said that building community, especially in Oakland, is essential to achieving its goals.
“It’s the most important part of having not just Black women and girls saying, ‘Hey, our lives have value and are worth fighting for, are worth protecting.’ It’s also having our allies show up and say the same thing,” Alcorn said in an interview with KQED.
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