BLACKSTONE
Faith Blackstone is an activist for human rights, advocating for racial equity in schools, social justice, abortion access, mental health awareness, sexual-violence accountability, and racial justice. She's also an advocate for climate change, animal rights, women's rights, and LGBTQIA+ rights.
ACTIVISM
Faith's voice in activism isn't just through social media, but also through her artwork. Her most famous piece being a portrait titled, "Big Floyd," a digital painting dedicated to George Floyd and his daughter, Gianna Floyd. This piece was transformed into a woven tapestry of which only 4 exist- One that was gifted to Mr. Floyd's family and another gifted to Gianna Floyd. The tapestry was displayed on stage at all three funeral services and was draped over Mr. Floyd's coffin. It was also on display at the Minnesota African American Heritage Museum and featured in the media.
"Big Floyd" Digital painting to woven tapestry.
IN THE MEDIA
Faith Blackstone short artist documentary by NBC Comcast Universal
Kare 11 Segment: George Floyd art piece by Faith Blackstone
The Today Show, 3rd Hour Segment: George Floyd art piece by Faith Blackstone
EVENTS
The Little Mermaid Challenge: LA
In May 2023, Faith followed the lead of original creator of "The Little Mermaid Challenge" Taylor Richardson and started her own challenge in her city: Los Angeles. The challenge was to take as many girls to see Disney's live action film "The Little Mermaid" as possible by crowdfunding the cost of the tickets. In just 2 weeks, Blackstone's fundraiser raised over $5k to take 100 and more girls to see themselves on the big screen with the world's first Black mermaid, Halle Bailey as Ariel. Her goal included providing free transportation, concessions, and even free Ariel dolls to each girl in attendance. Thanks to her partnership with the Steve and Marjorie Harvey Foundation and Girl Scouts of Greater Los Angeles, Faith was able to take 100 Girl Scouts as an Honorary Troop Leader.
BLACK HISTORY 365: UNCENSORED
Chaska High School students Faith Blackstone & Jayden Kelly-Gilchrist speak at an event dedicated to voicing African American history after posters about the Black Panther Party, Malcolm-X, Black Lives Matter, and Emmett Till created by Faith were denied to be put up on the school walls by school administration because they were "too violent" and because "we have to meet the community where they are," implying what we can only assume, that we as students of color are not a part of this "community" and that the white students at our high school were not ready to talk about Black History without censorship. Tonya Coleman, Faith's mother, rented out an event center with her own money to display these rejected posters and to voice their outrage about the several racist incidents at their prodominantly white school.
NATURAL HAIR DAY
Faith's student-led activist team, "Voices: UNDIVIDED" hosts a writing + poetry event and activity where everyone will wear their hair natural and wear no makeup in order to celebrate and empower students of color with their natural hair, bodies, & beauty. The event will provide a safe space and platform for students to share their stories and struggles as young adults finding themselves and accepting their bodies. We also are raising money for a new writing center in our school by selling snacks during the event.
View the news coverage by
clicking the Kare 11 logo.
DANCE BATTLE:
The Culture of Hip Hop
On May 30th, our team, Voices: UNDIVIDED, participated in a school dance battle event by dancing and having the Head Coordinator, Faith Blackstone, present a speech about the culture and history of Hip Hop.
"It was important to me that everyone in that room understood why we listen to hip hop, what it means, and why it's the biggest phenomenon in the 21ST century." -Statement from Faith Blackstone
The speech included three main points:
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Music has resonated with the black community since the slave era.
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Rap is a reflection of our culture & community.
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Hip Hop is a statement from the black community.
MN CLIMATE:
A Creative Call for Change
On November 6th 2019, Faith Blackstone had a major hand in planning and setting up this event where Perpich Arts High School students responded to climate change through Visual, Media and Literary Arts, Theater, Dance, and Music. This event is designed to coincide with the Santiago Climate Change Conference (COP25), the international meeting where world leaders gather to discuss ways to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions. Through out this event, guests got to learn about their water as a Perpich alumni's intricately designed Water Bar offered tastes from different sources, guests wrote their own letters to the earth, listened to ambient music inspired by the sounds of glaciers moving/melting, viewed a digital art gallery, and watched the work of 7 student-directed plays.
BLACK HISTORY 365: UNCENSORED VOL. 2
Faith Blackstone returns for the second annual Black History 365: UNCENSORED event as the host and co-event planner. Guests were reminded that this event was created after Faith's posters about the Black Panther Party, Malcolm-X, Black Lives Matter, and Emmett Till were denied to be put up on the school walls by school administration because they were "too violent" and because "we have to meet the community where they are." Tonya Coleman, Faith's mother, rented out an event center with her own money to display these rejected posters and to voice their outrage about the several racist incidents at their predominantly white school. This year's edition had everything from spoken word, live performances, speeches, and African American art from both students and established black artists.
Justice in Art:
A Tribute to George Floyd
After the brutal murder of George Floyd in her state, Faith Blackstone created an artistic tribute to support the movement when she was told she could not physically protest in the streets with thousands of others during the pandemic. She saw a picture of George Floyd in the car with his daughter, Gianna Floyd, and knew that she had to artistically capture the fact that George Floyd wasn't just another black man killed in the streets by police- he was a father. After Estes funeral home contacted her- the funeral home responsible for handling the memorial services for Mr. Floyd, she was given the amazing opportunity to put her artwork on a blanket/tapestry that would not only be displayed at every service, but would also be given directly to the Floyd family. Her piece of artwork was everywhere in the media and sold as prints. A percentage of the proceeds were donated to the Floyd family's GoFundMe.
