A Little Beacon Blog is celebrating its 2nd Annual Juneteenth Art Showcase! On June 19th, we put a call out for art produced by people identifying with the Black community. We also put a call out for sponsors to contribute any amount, and 100% of the contributions would go to the artists featured here. We also put a call out for logo designers, and accepted and commissioned 2 logos (shown above)! One from Vintage Messiah (left) and Dom (Dominisha) Garth (right). Thank you to everyone who participated!

Being that Juneteenth can run from June 19th until July 4th, as both are independence days, we are announcing the artists selected for ALBB’s Juneteenth Art Showcase on July 4th weekend!

Thank you to our two sponsors for this: an anonymous reader, and Moraya Seeger DeGeare, founder of the To My Old Racist Earth movement. Thanks to your contributions, we were able to award two artists this year: Rachel Lewis for poetry and Vintage Messiah for Illustration. Their expressions are below!

Rachel Lewis - Poetry

Rachel Lewis (@xstarb0rn) has been published in the following publications: Honeyfire Literary magazine Issue 05, Most Girls, the online magazine The Cranberry, Celebrate 845’s zines Social Unity: Volume 1 Issue 2 and “…And All Was Illuminated.” Follow Dom on Instagram at @upstate.creative

In the submissions, we asked the artists two questions:

ALBB: What would you like to tell the United States and the rest of the world?

Rachel: “I would like to tell the United States, and the rest of the world, that we see through the performative activism veil and are requiring more than what we’ve been given in the past.

ALBB: What would you like to tell the community where you live?

Rachel: “I would also like to tell Newburgh, NY (which is located in the beautiful and diverse Hudson Valley) that your neighbors, coworkers, friends, and even strangers that you pass on the street, are tired of suffering so that others can remain in their comfort. Last year was an incredible time for human rights across the board. Let’s keep that energy flowing. Every piece of poetry I’ve selected represents the pain I’ve experienced because of racial inequality and recent enlightenment.”

Rachel’s poems submitted for 2021 Juneteenth are below:

Breonna Taylor

To date a black woman
Is to date her magnificence, her beauty.
To date a black woman is to look at her, to truly see.
You see her marching
For aunts, uncles, and cousins she doesn’t know;
Because their culture was ripped from them, centuries ago.
So when you want to date a black woman,
Be mindful of your prudence.
Only then will you gain access to her beauty,
To her magnificence.

In The Beginning

I believe that we all started from,
All sprouted from
The “Eve Gene;”
Carried by nothing less than magnificent beings.
Strong enough to carry the weight of the entire human race,
Us carriers are resilient
And consistently great.
Without us, life was not created.
Without us, the world’s driving force is emaciated.
And yet we still hunger for the respect that we deserve.
We could be demanding so much more
Instead of what others are so freely given.
But here we are,
Still fighting for respect and acknowledgement
And especially from our own men.
But do I believe we will regain ours?
Yes, because as much as history
Has tried to deny us our rights,
We are still magnificent beings.
We flourish
And we grow
And reap the greatness
Our ancestors have sown.

Creation

I was not born.
I was created.
I was created to stir, poke, and prod.
I was created to speak for those who cannot.
I am here to learn.
And I am here to teach.
I am here for those who are still asleep.
The lies and stories woven will no longer serve as our reality.
We demand justice.
We demand peace;
And furthermore, we demand equality.

This is America

The walls shook
But the foundation bore the weight.
In the center stood
Resiliency,
Righteousness,
And a call to reclaim power.
We are done fulfilling your need
With our humility.
We are firmly planted and united
And will continue to be.
Do not underestimate
Our strength
Because of our compassion.
We are not asking.
We are demanding
Our right to
Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness;
And anything and everything
Y’all have been trying to deny us.

Vintage Messiah - Illustration

Vintage Messiah is the type of determined person who amazes you with what they create on old phones, some of which can’t even make a call, or can barely get online. Vintage is multi-talented, as he is not only an illustrator, but he is a recording artists and producer of beats using various instruments and sounds.

As an illustrator, Vintage works with paper and digital as he passes his projects through various stages. Follow him at @vintagemessiah and @vintagemessiahart

ALBB: What would you like to tell the United States and the rest of the world?

Vintage Messiah: "I want the United States to put down the guns of tyranny and stop fighting against ourselves. We breathe , eat and bleed the same why , so why can't we all fight for what's right at the big dinner table of change, sharing a meal and sharing hearts as one, rather than clawing through separation. We don't need a holiday to accept our differences and move on"

ALBB: What would you like to tell the community where you live?

Vintage Messiah: "Putnam County should acknowledge and accept the fact that we all came up here to enjoy the scenery, tropical weather, and peaceful times just as much as they do. We don't want to offend you by being ourselves, and you should feel the same. When my family bought a home in the outskirts of towns, the neighbors were open and welcoming. My one wish to unite the same way they did, with loving arms and a burning curiosity on how we can learn more about each other and be friends"

ALBB: How did you make the logo and these submitted works of art?

Vintage: I made it on paper, scanned it into my computer , then colored over it with digital software. Mixed Media for me is combining multiple different art forms and creating a piece out of it. I've made animated music videos before, which in itself requires video editing, audio engineering, vocal recording and drawing on paper and scanning it in, frame by frame (or with computer automated animation), and mixing it together for the final project. This has always been my process , as I create so much stuff, I couldn't stick to one label, so I made my own and explain it like I did here. For this drawing , it was just a sketch, scan and color!!! I could also animate it as well.