The Power of Art and Activism
Families Belong Together Unveils Mural in Long Island to Celebrate Black Immigrant Families
Wyandanch, NY – Haitian-American artist Marie E Saint-Cyr and Families Belong Together unveiled a new mural celebrating Black immigrant families, as part of the Families Belong Together’s art collaborative project designed to use the power of art to galvanize communities across the nation into a powerful movement to permanently end family separation and detention.
The Long Island mural is part of a national partnership by Families Belong Together and Black immigrant artists. Murals were also unveiled in Miami (FL) and Houston (TX), which celebrate Black immigrant families and illustrate that the journey to racial equity is far from over.
“Artistic projects of all kinds are part of the fabric of our society/culture and can carry a strong message with the ability to resonate with large audiences no matter what the medium,” said Kimberly Selden, lead cultural organizer with Families Belong Together. “As ICE continues to deport immigrants and separate families in the wake of COVID-19, these murals represent a new narrative that illustrates the fight for the values that connect us - dignity, care, love, and respect.”
This project comes at an urgent moment, as Black and non-Black immigrant communities face non-stop attacks and violence from police, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and the Trump administration simultaneously.
On June 26, US District Judge Dolly Gee ordered ICE to release migrant children from family detention centers by July 17. This deadline was extended to July 27. As the order only applies to releasing children, immigrant families are facing irreparable harm in
being forced to choose between family separation or continued detention of children. In the midst of the racial reckoning currently underway in the United States the
powerful imagery these artists offer provides insight into all that we must not return to and all that we must build to become a safer, stronger and more just country.
Haitian-American artist Marie E Saint-Cyr has created a mural in Wyandanch focused on the growth of a Black woman, inspired by her immigration journey from Haiti to New York “Anti-immigration sentiment is fundamentally rooted in anti-Black sentiment in terms of who does and does not have the right to be a citizen,” continued Selden. “All immigrants have the right to receive assistance, the right to protection from abuse and the freedom to seek asylum, regardless of who they are or where they come from.”
“I hope that the art impacts young dark skin girls and women,” said Saint-Cyr. “I want to remind them to appreciate and love their dark skin, and to know what they are Beautiful.”
“The Wyandanch Plaza is filled with families with young children. My hope is that the dark skin girls and women who walk by see themselves within the piece, and know that their skin color does not dictate how much success they will have in life.”
The mural is located at 40 Station Dr, Wyandanch, NY 11798, and the photos and video of it can be found here.
