Our Liberation is Bound Together

 
Pictured above: Sarah Greenman’s art studio.

Pictured above: Sarah Greenman’s art studio.

Black Lives Matter.

It isn't a controversial statement. It is a joyful proclamation of truth. Black life matters. Black trans lives matter. Black families matter. Black art matters. Black dreams matter. Black joy matters. Black votes matter. And my vote? I will always vote for policies, amendments, and candidates that are in service of protecting the sanctity of Black life.

But voting isn’t enough.

If we are truly going to awaken from the nightmare of white supremacy and heal our communities, we must embody radical love in our everyday practice.

In their article Additional Recommendations for Us Right Now From A Future, adrienne maree brown reminds us, “When we can see the end of our species on the horizon, we must operate at a scale that extends our life beyond the horizon. We root the work we do and the ways we do it in love, in being an extension of love in the world.” I claim this as mine to do — in my life and in my work.

My intention in writing today is to outwardly express the inner workings of my soul’s calling as an artist and change-maker. This calling is entwined with every aspect of my small business. I am my only employee, but I want the ripples of my work to shift culture and be a source of healing and nourishment for the beloved communities of which I am a part. I have refrained from writing this post until now because of the fear that I’ll be accused of “virtue signaling”. But I think it is vitally important for small business owners to discuss our work in this way.

I write today to invite accountability and show up publicly for those I stand with in solidarity.

MY MISSION: I liberate myself and those around me by using art to alchemize pain and confusion into joy and connection.

MY MANTRA: Our liberation is bound together. It is interconnected, interdependent, and collective.

BUSINESS GOALS: As I have built my small business over the past years, the above mission is always at the forefront of my choices and my actions. When it comes to business in the U.S.A, I agree with Ibram X. Kendi’s view that capitalism and racism are "conjoined twins". He states that “the origins of racism cannot be separated from the origins of capitalism… the life of capitalism cannot be separated from the life of racism.” It is with this in mind as an entrepreneur, that my stated goal is always right-livelihood. I want my work as an artist and creative guide to manifest in the following ways:

  • Co-create pathways to right-relationship

  • Offer nourishing antidotes to supremacy structures

  • Co-create sustainable alternatives to Capitalism

  • Honoring matriarchal wisdom and women & femme voices

  • Get us all FREE


TANGIBLE COMPONENTS: For the purposes of transparency, I’d like to share some of the tangible components of how I do this work. These are business practices that honor right relationship and serve to counteract supremacy structures and create access within my own work and creative offerings:

  • Land acknowledgement (on my home page) and clear monthly donation cycle as part of my reparations budget to cultural programming led and managed by those within the Nimmipuu (Nez Perce) community. Please see the “transparency in spending & support” list below.

  • All one-on-one coaching sessions are sliding scale / free for those whose voices have been historically marginalized and silenced, and are therefore underrepresented. This means non-white, queer, people with disabilities (visible and non-visible), and people who cannot typically access these kinds of programs due to prohibitive cost and/or cultural insensitivity.

  • Center BIPOC and queer wisdom and voices in teaching materials

  • Transparency in spending & support (scroll down for full list)

  • Inclusive and accessible website

ACCOUNTABILITY: As an able-bodied, neurotypical, white, cisgender woman, I am devoted to a life-long journey of learning and self-interrogation as it pertains to my privilege. I am committed to partnering with BIPOC leadership in the fight for justice. This continual awakening requires accountability partners, facilitators, and teachers and well as personal and business practices that align my work with my justice-forward mission. Here are some of my accountability practices:

TRANSPARENCY IN SPENDING & SUPPORT: I am an independent artist and entrepreneur. Sharing where I spend my earned income is one way to remain in right-relationship with my clients and partners. It also help my patrons and customers better understand what they support when they support me.

As the sole bread-winner for my family, my income goes largely towards medical care for my family, local food sources, some student debt, savings, and monthly bills including mortgage, internet, water, electricity, gas, garbage, and cell phones.

The remainder of my income goes towards donations and overhead related to my business such as supplies, shipping, continuing education, and books. I’m proud to financially support the BIPOC and queer individuals and businesses listed below as well as local farms and service organizations. I encourage you to do the same.

ARTISTS & SMALL BUSINESSES

  • Edna’s Booktique — Enda’s Booktique is an independent bookstore located in Duncanville (Dallas), Texas, founded by Enda Jean Pemberton Jones, an African American educator and chaplain. This is where I get my books.

  • Kelcey Anya Performing Arts Academy (KAPAA) — a multi-disciplinary performing artist hailing from the bayous of South Louisiana. Kelcey founded KAPAA in New York City and features a summer summit focused on theatrical technique, poetry, playwriting and musical production for youth ages 10-17. I donate to Kelcey’s programming and scholarship funds.

  • B. Merikle — an art experimentalist and paradigm shifter creating work focused on unhooking from whiteness and de-centering whiteness - especially from the creative and sensual lives of black womxn and femmes. I support B on a monthly basis through Patreon.

  • Gwenn Seemel — a queer artist and writer, feminist and uncopyrighting advocate. I support Gwenn on a monthly basis through Patreon.

  • Garlia Cornelia — a creative polymath, theatre artist, writer, producer, photographer, and podcaster. I first encountered Garlia’s work at a conference in New York and am honored to support her on a monthly basis through Patreon.

  • Yusef Seevers for Arbonne — Yusef is a theatre maker, educator, dancer, and musician. He is also a consultant for Arbonne. I purchase nutritional supplements and wellness items through his business.

  • Rachel Lynett — Rachel is a playwright, producer, and the Executive Director of Page By Page. I support Rachel on a monthly basis through Patreon.

LOCAL ORGANIC FARMS

  • Hedge Rose Farm — a small, diversified, primarily horse-powered farm in Eastern Oregon, focused on producing healthy, sustainable vegetables, fruits, and meats.

  • Eagle Creek Orchard — an organic orchard in Eastern Oregon rooted in sustainable practices and food sovereignty. They believe that people have a right to healthy and culturally appropriate food produced through ecologically sound and sustainable methods, and their right to define their own food and agriculture systems.

ORGANIZATIONS

  • Nimiipuu Protecting the Environment - Grassroots Nimiipuu-led coalition organizing around time-honored sustainable environmental practices and protecting tribal lands and tribal treaty rights within their original ceded area and beyond. I donate monthly to NPE.

  • Nez Perce Cultural Resource Program — The mission of the CRP is to promote the understanding and use of nimíipuu’neewit (traditional Nez Perce life-ways) as integral components of Tribal culture and regional management. They provide essential Nimmipuu language programming in the Lapwai school district (80% native student population) and internships for Tribal youth engaging with the care and restoration of traditional lands and sacred spaces. I donate monthly to these community programs.

  • Heartspark Press — Heartspark Press is a volunteer-led, trans-centered non-profit dedicated to the liberation of  transgender girls, transgender women, and CAMAB (coercively* assigned-male-at-birth) non-binary people. Their programming includes an online audio and video storytelling archive, workshops centered on trans writers of color, weekly community events, and quarterly performances featuring local performers and national artists. I support Heartspark on a monthly basis through Patreon.

  • Color of Change — Color of Change is designing powerful campaigns to end practices that unfairly hold Black people back, and champion solutions that move us all forward. I donate annually.

  • Black Lives Matter — BLM is a call to action in response to state-sanctioned violence and anti-Black racism. Our intention from the very beginning was to connect Black people from all over the world who have a shared desire for justice to act together in their communities. I donate annually.

  • NAACP Legal Defense Fund — The NAACP working to reform policing in America. I donate annually.

  • Planned Parenthood — Planned Parenthood delivers vital reproductive health care, sex education, and information to millions of people worldwide. Planned Parenthood saved my life as a young woman without resources. Now, I give every year.

For more about my justice lens and business practices, please visit www.sarahgreenman.com/journey.

I have articulated my work’s purpose and focus above as a way of remaining accountable to my community and connected to my mission-driven work. I acknowledge that these are just words and that the real work manifests in how I impact my collaborators, clients, and community. Thank you for being a part of that accountability. Please feel free to contact me directly if you have thoughts you’d like to share. I am open and welcome your feedback.


 
Sarah GreenmanComment