CIVIL UNREST + ACTION by Lola Flash

‘I am super immersed in the tipping [point] of the Black Lives Matter movement (and of course other long-standing organizations), which Mr. George Floyd‘s killing by four police officers has [reinvigorated]. I had been photographing the still, quiet island of Manhattan, due to COVID-19 — then all h*ll broke out! My emotions, like many of us, are mixed. I go from sad to furious on any given day. I am energized to see so many young people engrossed in peaceful protest. As a member of ACT UP during the AIDS crisis, it reminds me of the strategies and demos that we navigated to make our agenda heard. Yet, I am questioning so much. Why are so many white people just realizing they have white privilege? Why are Black people posting about the deaths of Mr. Floyd and Breonna Taylor, but “forgetting” to mention our queer fam such as Tony McDade and Nina Pop? How can we break this institutional and systematic racism, so that in another 40 years, we don’t find ourselves in the very same situation?

Alas, as a black queer female-centered person, I only know that after spending so many decades as an “invisible pervert,” I have hope. Hope that has been passed down from my ancestors, and just as they kept their vision of freedom, so shall I!’ (Lola Flash, from recent interview in hyperallerigic.com. to see the full interview click here).