A BEAUTIFUL
RESISTANCE
A BEAUTIFUL RESISTANCE
A BEAUTIFUL
RESISTANCE
Black joy, Black lives, as celebrated by culture columnist Jeneé Osterheldt
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Oak Bluffs is the part of Martha's Vineyard where white locals sold freed slaves land in the 18th century. Here, Black folk cultivated their own beach town, a place of black affluence and summer joy. A place where the water is ours. Mercy Bell grew up catching the ferry from Boston to the Vineyard to visit her brother. Now, they own a home together, their first property, their first permanent address, and a step toward family legacy no one can be evicted from.
How did a native New Yorker become a Worcester representer? Che Anderson, Worcester’s deputy cultural development officer, uses art to cultivate community and help artists tell stories through graffiti, murals, and public art.
— Episode 3 —
Protest is a beautiful resistance
Coming December:
OJ Slaughter is a Boston based photographer. Since the murder of George Floyd, they have captured most of the protests in the city, as well as the March on Washington. And when a Black photographer captures the uprising, the gaze captures more than anger. OJ sees the joy, the community, and the love in protests. And it comes out in their photography. OJ is working to fund other Black storytellers and document the history of now.
— Episode 4 —
Vogue is a beautiful resistance
Coming December:
HBO Max saved a lot of TV summers with "Legendary," a competitive ballroom reality show, a celebration of queer culture and voguing down the runway. And London Escada, mother of House of Escada New England, brought heart to the ball. London was born and raised in Springfield, Mass. and is now a proud Bostonian helping others love themselves through dance and community.
— Episode 5 —
To Be Black, Bostonian, and Proud is a beautiful resistance
Coming December:
Dart Adams, a hip-hop historian, author, and Boston griot is a native son of the South End and Lower Roxbury. The world outside of Boston likes to believe Black and brown people don't live here and Old Boston is complicit in their erasure. Dart learned young the importance of keeping the stories and marking the space. He takes us on a tour of his Boston Black history.
— Episode 6 —
Land is a beautiful resistance
Coming December:
Krista Scruggs, a farmer and winemaker in Vermont, is one of the rising tastemakers in natural wine. As a queer, Black woman, she's often labeled as a disruption to the whitewashed narrative of who makes wine. But as a native of Fresno, she's a farmer by nature and farming the land is just as much the story of our ancestors as it is anyone else's.
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↗ Jeneé Osterheldt
Jeneé Osterheldt is a culture columnist who covers identity and social justice through the lens of culture and the arts. She centers Black lives and the lives of people of color. Sometimes this means writing about Beyoncé and Black womanhood or unpacking the importance of public art and representation. Sometimes this means taking systemic racism, sexism, and oppression to task. It always means Black lives matter. She joined the Globe in 2018. A native of Alexandria, Va. and a graduate of Norfolk State University, Osterheldt was a 2017 Nieman Fellow at Harvard, where her studies focused on the intersection of art and justice. She previously worked as a Kansas City Star culture columnist.See more of Jeneé's work here.
↘ Paula Champagne
Paula Champagne, who created the logo and Jeneé’s portrait, is a visual storyteller specializing in video, documentary photography, illustration, and graphic design. Champagne’s multimedia work communicates authentic human experiences. Inspired by her own experiences in the outdoors— her most recent passion projects explore and honor the intersection of Blackness, nature, and the quiet resistance of rest. paulachampagne.com
↘ Dart Adams
Dart Adams is a hip-hop historian, author, and Boston griot representing the South End and Lower Roxbury. His book, "Best Damn Hip Hop Writing: The Book of Dart," came out last year. Adams is curating New England inspired playlists for each episode of "A Beautiful Resistance."
Credits
Commentary, concept & curation: Jeneé Osterheldt
Videos produced: Caitlin Healy & Jeneé Osterheldt
Video shot & edited: Caitlin Healy
Project art: Paula Champagne
Playlists curated: Dart Adams
Featuring: Dart Adams, Che Anderson, Mercy Bell, London Escada, Krista Scruggs, & OJ Slaughter
Project editor: Jason Tuohey
Audience editor: Heather Ciras
Social producer: Jeneé Osterheldt
Photographers: Jonathan Wiggs, Craig F. Walker, Suzanne Kreiter, Pat Greenhouse, Jeneé Osterheldt
Digital design: Ryan Huddle
Animations: Brendan Lynch
Emotional labor: Christopher Hunt, Amy Pedulla, & Jonathan Jackson. Thank you, Caitlin & Jeneé