Black Lives Matter at Adafruit: Anti-Racist Art from Michelle Paer
Black Lives Matter. As a company we have taken direct action which we are committed to continuing each and every day. We wouldn’t have been able to do this without our team whose creativity, talents and passions continue to help make Adafruit work.
There are many creative people at Adafruit: musicians, writers, actors, developers, artists and more. One member of the team who we’re excited to highlight today is Michelle Paer from our Fabrication department. Michelle has a degree in illustration from the School of Visual Arts NYC. Her art focuses on individuals, while stylistically she loves to experiment with color. Her work is rich, vibrant and deeply meaningful.
Recently she has been sharing beautiful Anti-Racist artwork in memory of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Eric Garner as well as pieces that celebrate the power and hope of the repeal of 50-A as well as that of Marsha P. Johnson and Stonewall. In some of this work you will see her recent fixation with the meaning and symbolism of flowers as well as a mesmerizing juxtaposition of the literal meeting the metaphorical.
“Over the last nine years, I have marched with thousands of others in the Pride Parades of NYC and Providence. In my experience, June is a celebration of rights fought for 50+ years ago, originally led by trans people of color. This year, protests continue to stop those same threats of police brutality and hate against marginalized and oppressed groups, namely black and brown people.”
“As a member of the lgbtq+ community and as a person with white privilege, I hope that I can raise awareness of violence against those oppressed and those given less of a voice than I have. My voice is through my art in which I thank Marsha P. Johnson for her activism and bravery for leading movements that continue to this day.”
Adafruit publishes a wide range of writing and video content, including interviews and reporting on the maker market and the wider technology world. Our standards page is intended as a guide to best practices that Adafruit uses, as well as an outline of the ethical standards Adafruit aspires to. While Adafruit is not an independent journalistic institution, Adafruit strives to be a fair, informative, and positive voice within the community – check it out here: adafruit.com/editorialstandards
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