Writing Samples

More than a Melody: Reimagining the Sounds of Blackness by Ireashia M. Bennett Loss/Capture Series

Through a series of writings, conversations, and archive digs, this project explores and uplifts archives and collections that speak to Sixty’s communities, starting with a look into the state of Black cultural archives in and beyond Chicago. A personal essay that highlights the importance of accessible Black historical and cultural spaces in Chicago and the role archivists have in shaping our understanding of history. Ireashia discusses how the Center for Black Music Research shift how they viewed Blackness and their own history as a Black queer disabled person.

Art-Activism-Archives Interview Series centering on the intersections of art, activism, and the archives as spaces of documenting movements in Chicago. This article series is published as part of Envisioning Justice, a 19-month initiative presented by Illinois Humanities that looks into how Chicagoans and Chicago artists respond to the impact of incarceration in local communities and how the arts and humanities are used to devise strategies for lessening this impact. Published originally by Sixty Inches from Center in 2018.