BRONTË VELEZ on Embodying the Revolution /65
Photo by Ayşe Gürsöz of brontë velez at Lead to Life ceremony.
Mesmerizing visionary leader brontë velez poetically guides us through an expansive exploration of critical ecology, radical imagination and decomposition as rebellion. brontë graciously encourages us to examine our relationship to place and space, the decolonization of literacy, the decomposition of violence and the prioritization of Black wellness.
“Let’s plant things. Let’s plant food. Let’s reimagine what security is. Let’s decompose violence. Let’s do that work together.”
Photo of brontë velez
brontë is guided by “the many rivers that have come together” to make and sustain them. as a black-latinx multimedia artist, life-long student, and designer, their praxis (theory + action) lives at the intersections of critical geography, black liberation ecologies and creative placemaking. they live by the call that "black wellness is the antithesis of state violence" (Mark Anthony Johnson). their work intends to compost the violences forged by environmental racism through radical imagination. this commitment iterates through several mediums and this year grows through Lead to Life. in their last year at Brandeis University, brontë worked as a copy editor on a retrospective of Mexican artist Pedro Reyes’ work. when they witnessed his projects Disarm and Palas por Pistolas - in which he transforms weapons into shovels and instruments - they were met with profound healing and a deep desire to share this medicine through continuing the rituals in the united states as a direct response to losing a dear friend to gun violence alongside the larger traumatic impact on black communities and environments from police brutality. they are committed to joy, wellness, decomposition as rebellion and walking in the prayer that “justice is what love looks like in public."
♫ Music featured in this episode by Majo and Reverend Pearly Brown.
Episode References
Emergent Strategy by adrienne maree brown
Conflict is Not Abuse by Sarah Shulman
“Cosmic Literacies and Black Fugitivity” by James Padilioni, Jr.
Alice Walker
Mark Anthony Johnson
Leah Penniman at Soulfire Farm
Theaster Gates, Tamir and Samaria Rice
Bureau of Linguistical Reality
The Sovereignty of Quiet by Kevin Quashie
DELVE DEEPER
Embodying the Revolution is a study guide to accompany further inquiry into the expansive dialogue held with brontë velez in the episode of the same title aired on February 15th, 2018. This zine hosts 16 pages of content including: compiled resources mentioned in the interview, critical thinking discussion questions, poetry and prose, a deeper-dive resource guide and a comprehensive glossary. This zine is a resource to use individually or collectively to begin a conversation about building a truly just and intersectional movement.
Newly updated and published in 2023
What you get: A 16-page study guide & resource zine in PDF format with live url links
Once checkout is completed, you'll have 24 hours to download your PDF file before access expires.
For The Wild is a slow media organization dedicated to land-based protection, co-liberation, and intersectional storytelling. We are rooted in a paradigm shift away from human supremacy, endless growth, and consumerism. As we dream towards a world of grounded justice and reciprocity, our work highlights impactful stories and deeply-felt meaning making as balms for these times.