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The Black Artist Collective will display Say Their Names banners at several locations in Syracuse to commemorate the people of color who have died due to police brutality and racial violence.

Jaleel Campbell created the artwork displayed on the banners, which show the faces of Black people killed by police, including Philando Castile, Sandra Bland and Mike Brown.

The banners will be put on display at Bethany Baptist Church in the coming weeks. After the church, they will be shown at the Syracuse University Community Folk Art Center and at various locations across Syracuse, including ArtRage Gallery in the Northside neighborhood and Cafe Sankofa in the Southside neighborhood.

Martikah Williams, co-founder of the Black Artist Collective, said the banners are a “reminder that you’re not in it alone. Nobody in this community is fighting this fight alone.”

On George Floyd’s birthday, Oct. 14, Black Artist Collective presented three banners at its Say Their Names Memorial at Bethany Baptist Church. Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin killed Floyd in May and has been charged with murder.

(From left) Martikah Williams, Cjala Surratt, Jaleel Campbell, Qiana Williams and Alice Olom are founders of the Black Artist Collective of CNY. Courtesy of Qiana Williams

At the event, the Black Artist Collective encouraged people to add names to the banner of those they love who were affected by police violence. Qiana Williams, a Syracuse resident and co-founder of the Black Artist Collective, said there were at least 100 names added to the banners, including people killed in Syracuse and in many cities across the country.

The banner serves as an opportunity for artist collaboration and a chance for the community to grieve collectively, Martikah said.

“There’s this whole piece of art that we’re all making together to solidify the fact that we are a community. We do care about each other,” she said. “That’s us advocating for each other.”

The banners will also be a constant reminder of lives lost and a way to keep citizens involved and active in the Black Lives Matter movement.

“For posterity’s sake … this isn’t just a moment.” Qiana said, “This actually has legacy, and we don’t want to let people get back to business as usual.”

The banners both give a platform to Black voices and make that platform available to everyone in all areas of Syracuse, Martikah said.

Martikah said it’s important for the banners to move to different locations, because with the coronavirus pandemic, not everyone has the same access to transportation as they normally would.

The Say Their Names Memorial aims to use art as an intervention and interruption to the onslaught of police brutality cases, Martikah said. Ranette Releford, administrator at the Citizen Review Board for the Syracuse Police Department, said she has dealt with almost 500 cases of police misconduct allegations in the past three years she has worked there.

Releford spoke at the Say Their Names event about the importance of accountability in the Syracuse Police Department. She is working toward a goal of open communication and transparency between city residents and the police.

After Floyd’s death, the collective formed to put the community at the center of the conversation and to give artists of color a space in Syracuse to create, Qiana said.

Following the positive feedback from the Say Their Names event, the Black Artist Collective is planning more events for the future, including a film festival in February to showcase movies by artists of color on all levels of production, Martikah said.

“When I was talking to people afterwards, and something that the rest of the BAC team was sharing with each other, was that so many people felt like this was so needed,” Martikah said. “It’s funny because you don’t even realize that you need it and you’re just grateful because somebody took the initiative to make the space for it.”

Published on November 2, 2020 at 11:00 pm

Contact Sydney: sypollac@syr.edu