I’ve been following Kelly Rae Roberts for a long time now, and this post arrived in my email on Thursday.
She and some friends have come together in an effort to start a movement called #artistsforlove. She reminds us of a truth that is so very important to hold on to now, “Although we may hold different political beliefs, we can still hold one another.”
I told a friend of mine earlier this week, “You can take the woman out of social work, but you can’t take social work out of the woman.” I haven’t been able to be the hands-on activist and catalyst I hoped to be when I was young. My mind and body haven’t cooperated with me in that dream as fully as I wanted it to happen.
Kelly Rae’s background is in social work, so she has brought that mindset into her creative work. This is where #artistsforlove springs from. If you read the declaration, she is calling us to stand in solidarity with those considered “the least of these.” Even if–especially if–you are one of them.
Now, more than ever in my artist journey, I feel the call to stand with Love. Let me be clear: to stand with Love doesn’t not mean to not stand with those who voted for someone else. I am smarter than that, wiser than that. And so are you. Love wants us to dig deeper. We can hold different political beliefs, but still hold one another.
If you consider yourself an artist in any way, shape, or form–or even if you don’t–consider throwing yourself behind this movement. Let’s give it legs, y’all!
I love this quote from Tennessee Williams:
“The world is violent and mercurial – it will have its way with you. We are saved only by love – love for each other and the love that we pour into the art we feel compelled to share: being a parent, being a writer, being a painter, being a friend. We live in a perpetually burning building, and what we must save from it, all the time, is love.”
Finding Our Voices Together 