Alex Marshall-Brown

A Creative approach to ethical church reformation

OPEN CALL FOR ARTISTS AND CREATIVES

I went viral July 2020 after several volunteers presented racist views as I sat in the lawn of Saint Paul First Lutheran Church.  That experience has sparked my further investigation into systemic forms of racial oppression that not only exist within Hollywood as well as across American church institutions, but are also consistently and constantly reified.  I'd love to connect with industry creatives, professionals, and church leaders to share my ideas for how we can creatively collaborate as we work toward solutions enlivening people to push this movement along.  I am also seeking a landing place where I can post opinion pieces about my progress as I hold church institutions accountable to their Anti-Racist development.

THE ORIGINS OF ALEXANDRIA

My parents named me Alexandria.  The sparked Love in those US citizens ignited in Egypt.  I arrived in the world in Washington D.C.   I am of so many Peoples.  I’ve live all through the Caribbean, into South America, & South Africa. My travels brought me around the world navigating white spaces in black bodied countries.   I am linked to so much Wisdom.  

There once was an Alexander thought to be Great; known as the defender of Mankind.  He was inspired.  Basking in the Love my parents found in their youth, while educating themselves in Egyptian libraries, they chose to name me, Alexandria.  My true name I have not embraced until now.

I shall be who I am, Alexandria.  Defender of Humxnkind.  A legacy of Black Excellence.

Acts of cultural exclusion are reserved for the Ancients.  Evolution requires acceptance of All, solely in an AntiRacist society.

Alexandria now leads a moral recalibration of the church & strictly operates from the Golden Rule.  Do good, be kind, self care, heal others.  Mindful awareness is key.  This planet is Sacred. Honor Life. Not only should we treat others with the dignity they would like to be treated, we should treat others as THEY ask to be treated.  

Respect is in the asking AND in the Doing.

So says Alexandria.

ALLOW YOUR IMAGINATION TO CARRY YOU INTO CREATION WITH THESE PROMPTS;

Thematic Visuals & Imagery for Artists

1. Black woman serenely sitting  under the shade of a tree. Painting nails, reading a book, on her laptop as she grounds herself in the comfort of grass beside the brick and stained glass of a church. Really any peaceful activity will do, but we all know that there is Power in depiction of the Truth.

2. A field of scorched earth.  The angled limbs of Black bodies strewn everywhere comprise the hills, trees, & mountainside all across the land.  The menace of the storm of racial oppression swirls above.  Upon the limbs within the ghost of a spark & licked by the flames of her rage there stands a black woman, silent and resolute, rising from the ashes of her ancestors.   Like a phoenix renewed, she ascends facing the swirl of oppression. 

   
   A phoenix from the ashes of her ancestors.
   Pillar for the black bodies of the earth.
   
   She fights with compassion.  She is deeply rooted.  Unabashed, unapologetic, yet reverent, & regal in defiance.  She is gracefully fearless. Enraged yet seeking peace. Her message is often firm but always Loving.  She only asks to be respected.  And journeys in search of oppression to ask it ‘Why?’
   
   Ever forgiving, but only to those who work toward an AntiRacist future we all can thrive in.
   
   This is Alexandria [she/ her];
   Alexandria ; the Rosa Parks of the church grass.
   A phoenix rising from dust and chains to quell the storm.  

   When White looks upon Alexandria, may it be in reflection of itself...and in invitation of its AntiRacist growth.

BELIEF REFLECTS HOW ONE CHOOSES TO LIVE

This art will remain a unifying symbol for The People, reasserting the worth and value of what we are all fighting for. If there are memes, and art, and murals, and songs, and stories written about the black woman that sat in the church grass, then any church that refuses to advance in their AntiRacist education, will be willfully choosing to remain complicit in discrimination - in direct hypocrisy of their Christian teachings. Those are the establishments we should question. I would like to empower everyone who is sacred to live in benevolence within their local communities.  May they, with a gracious hand, reach out to the infirm and the unhoused.

Please share with others and encourage ideas for how we can open a discussion with the church to dismantle racism in all institutions.

—-

Noteable hashtags; #TheCompassion #Sacred #ReformTheChurch

Please hold posting all creations for a controlled release after Aug 25, 2020. Hit me on the socials below.

Thank you helping and proving Black Lives Matter as we fight for the Soul of America.  

Go forth, with Compassion.

~Alexandria Marshall-Brown

Black in the Grass at St Paul First Lutheran Church

LA TIMES   KCAL NEWS   BUZZFEED   NEW YORK POST   THE SUN   

Please Note: If you are interested, in knowing more about my experiences at the church, here is a link to my blog Black in the Grass detailing events.  The most notable post is the speech I gave after attending Sunday services soon after my racist experience in their grass.  That speech was a rare opportunity to say all that needed to be said as I spoke Truth to power about the institution which did me harm.