Yvette Harris, founder of Mothers Against Senseless Killings (MASK), stood before the handful of policemen guarding the U.S. federal courthouse building on April 3 and shouted, “We have got to come together. We are tired of all this bloodshed in the streets.”
Behind her, women held large painted portraits of the young black people who have died at the hands of police – including 7-year-old Aiyana Stanley-Jones, who was shot and killed in her sleep when Detroit police raided the wrong apartment in 2010. The girl’s family filed a lawsuit against the Detroit Police Department on April 1.
At 2 p.m., the group of mothers and artists marched to St. Louis City Hall and the federal building, as part of their demonstration they called “Reclaim Holy Week.”
“We chose Good Friday to bring the very idea that mothers grieve, whether it’s the Virgin Mary grieving Jesus or a mother who lost her son to police violence,” said Elizabeth Vega, leader of the activists group called the Artivists who painted the signs. “We really want to amplify the mourning aspect of it.”
At the end of the month, the St. Louis City Board of Aldermen will vote on a bill to establish a civilian review board of police work. Vega said they wanted city officials to know that they will be watching.
“You shoot and kill, and you go home and get paid for it,” said Lovie Ransom-Ewing, aunt to Cary Ball Jr., who was shot 20 times and killed by police in 2013. “That’s rewarding them for killing our babies. They’ve lost their minds.”
Art as spiritual companion
Theologian Wilson Yates will lecture on “Art as Companion on the Spiritual Journey” 2 p.m. Sunday, April 19 in the Anheuser-Busch Auditorium in Cook Hall (3674 Lindell Blvd.) on the campus of Saint Louis University.
Yates, the new head of MOCRA’s national Board of Advisors, will explore the profound significance of the conversation between art and spirituality. He begins with the assumption that we are all on a spiritual journey, whether that journey is rooted in a major religious tradition or in another expression of values that invite spiritual exploration. In considering the contours of this journey, we move to heart of the discussion regarding how the contemporary visual arts can be companions that both shape and enrich the spiritual life.
He will discuss the role of the arts in formal worship, the way the arts connect us to and help us understand the traditions that have formed us, the capacity for art to raise existential questions regarding the ultimate nature of human existence, the potential for art to be a means of encountering that which is holy, and the power of art to help us envision new worlds and possibilities.
Yates is president emeritus of United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities and founding editor of the journal ARTS (The Arts in Religious and Theological Studies). He is the author of “Arts in Theological Education: New Possibilities for Integration” and co-editor of “Theological Reflections on the Grotesque in Art and Religion” and “The Arts, Theology and the Church.”
Free parking is available in the Canisius Lot across the street. The lecture is free and open to the public. A reception with Yates will follow at MOCRA. Call 314-977-7170 or visit mocra.slu.edu for more information.
