A Memorial Field
Part of being American is to reckon with our past and memorialize it. The work presented here began in spring 2020, when the quick succession of murders—Ahmaud Arbery • Breonna Taylor • George Floyd—gave rise to a local Black Lives Matter demonstration and compelled the artist to post, in her majority-White community, portrayals of shocking evidence of anti-Black police violence. She continued to write these portrayals, evocative of epitaphs, which are a form of elegy. The elegies stir people afflicted directly and indirectly by police brutality. A Living Memorial, searchable by name, date, or location, is the online version of her evolving public artwork, A Memorial Field, that grew in scope over a five-year period while it was installed at the John Brown Farm State Historic Site in Lake Placid, New York. Resources from conversations organized to elicit dialogue around issues of racial equity and justice are presented plus a downloadable history of voting rights.
What does “A Memorial Field” have to do with John Brown?
John Brown was an abolitionist who believed in racial equality and sacrificed his life to end the moral wrong of slavery. Drawing inspiration from Brown, JBL! promotes social justice and human rights through reflection and activism, awareness and exploration, allyship and action. JBL! believes that today’s Black Lives Matter Movement aligns with Brown’s beliefs that Black people do not deserve, nor should they accept, inequality based on race.
A Memorial Field, a freedom education project by Ren Davidson Seward in collaboration with John Brown Lives!, was installed at the John Brown Farm State Historic Site in Lake Placid, New York from 2020-2024. It is now A Living Memorial to victims of police brutality, searchable by name, date and place.
“A Memorial Field grew from a shattering look at the history of racially-motivated violence in policing to an emotionally-stirring experience, and a reverential space for remembering and reflecting. It is said to have brought contemporary relevance to the John and Mary Brown farm, a hallowed place where the abolitionist is buried alongside the remains of eleven of his foot soldiers.”
—AMemorialField.org
Get Involved
To engage with A Memorial Field by adding a name, joining the community, or bringing the exhibit to your location, simply click the button below to send an email and start the conversation.
ADD A NAME TO A Memorial Field
To add a person’s story to A Living Memorial, please send an email that cites three sources that describe a racially-motivated killing of an unarmed Black person engaged in everyday activity until encountering law enforcement. Every name submitted will be carefully considered.
BRING A Memorial Field TO YOUR LOCATION
To bring A Memorial Field to your location, find a church or institution that will sponsor an installation in your community. Then contact us here for a downloadable version that can be printed locally for an interior or exterior installation. The installation is an entry point for difficult conversations about co-creating a world without police brutality.
To engage with these options, or join our community to receive occasional updates and notices about opportunities to gather, please contact us.
