It’s no secret that creative expression has the power to heal. Whether it’s a movie, sketch comedy, a painting, or even graffiti on the side of a building, art gives us a way to deeply explore our personal stories so we can transform trauma and feel whole again. Even more powerfully, it helps us understand the stories of people with very different experiences.
My perspective on art has been a work in progress. As someone who grew up in a working-class family in West Philly, my parents encouraged us to experience art, but I felt like that was something other people did. Growing up Black American, Afro-Latino and gay meant I also encountered racism and other “isms” that forced me to tap into my own capacity for healing. That’s when I discovered that artistic expression does not care how much money you have or where you live. It’s all around us in many different forms and spaces. Art offers a pathway to see yourself and others while learning, transforming and healing.
Racism and other forms of social injustice shape our lives – no matter where we are or what we look like. They are systems that drive inequities impacting everyone, just in different ways. In today’s polarized environment, we need to find ways to heal as individuals and in community. The process calls each of us to boldly reflect on our personal stories. The experience isn’t always easy. Sometimes things get uncomfortable. But that’s okay. We have the power to use our knowledge and wisdom to take a deep dive, confident that we will make it safely to the other side. We are called to unpack what we’ve been taught in school, our homes and neighborhoods and communities. We are called to seriously consider what we need to “unteach” ourselves. As many writers and thinkers have said, the more we know ourselves and our history in this country, the more healing we will experience and the more grace we will have for each other.
I don’t think of myself as a particularly “political” person, but I believe in human and
civil rights. I’ve been blessed to use my voice and platform to lift up what I care about in the world. I want the films and plays I work on to not only to entertain but also to inspire provocative thoughts and compelling conversations. Every artist approaches this differently – one thing I want to do in my work is smash the tropes about who we are as Black men.
A director I know once said something about art that strikes me as a core tenet of racial healing — “It doesn’t have to look like you to be about you.” We have to be able to look at stories from outside our own experience and trust that, in many ways, they are also our stories. As an artist, my job is to be curious and interpret humanity to find out what makes us more alike than unalike. It’s a beautiful responsibility and a part of my job that I love because it keeps me connected to the world.
Recently I had the opportunity to talk with leaders from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation about how art inspires people to make the world better for everyone, including children, families and communities. The foundation centers all of its work on children. Knowing that children reside in families and families reside in communities, they work in collaboration with grantee partners to break down systemic barriers. That’s also where racial healing comes in — we all have a story and a way in which we can walk in the world. But if we recognize and honor our common humanity, those persistent barriers can be destroyed. One of the ways this happens is the National Day of Racial Healing, where people contemplate shared values and create the blueprint together for healing from the effects of racism.
Let’s make racial healing a daily habit and a practice. Let’s tell the truth about the
past and what’s behind current realities. Let’s do the “people work” it takes to
evolve into something greater. Let’s cultivate empathy and build trusting
relationships to create social systems that work for all. And as part of that healing,
let’s make art, witness art, and let it open us up to a whole new world.
To learn more about this work, visit dayofracialhealing.org
