08BurkholderOne Struggle KC Engaging Art/Una Lucha KC Arte Atractivo works to empower, unite, and educate oppressed groups/communities within the KC metro area through art. This grant will enable One Struggle KC/Una Lucha KC (1SKC/UL) to serve marginalized communities within their own neighborhoods. By utilizing less stigmatizing settings to address mental health concerns, 1SKC/UL will be able to reach families most affected by trauma. 1SKC/UL will partner with other organizations to capture the attention of people of color who are often unaware of the transformative nature of art.

02Burkholder1SKC/UL seeks to capitalize on their existing momentum and expand their efforts to new audiences. They use two primary formats: community healing projects to facilitate discussion (including healing through art), and socially conscious coloring books for children and adults.

The group will be building on a previous successful project that served as a unifying tool, where people could be vulnerable to express emotions in a safe, communal space while centering the narratives of people of color. This was part of the Craft, Care and Justice Hub, inspired by NedRa Bonds and organized by Danny Orendorff, in December 2014, and involved many visual and spoken word artists and musicians.

BlackandBrownLivesMatterAlthough the projects featured artists of color and engaged approximately 100 community members, the venue was small and the group was unable to financially compensate the artists. Moving forward, they seek to expand as well as to compensate artists.

To address the needs of the entire community, they will create a structured and safe learning environment specifically for children. In February 2015, ULKC created a children’s book to help children find similarities between students/families in the US and students/families in Mexico. The focus was not on the fate of the missing students in Ayotzinapa, but to show what it means to voice concerns, how to ask to for help, and how to help others.

1SKC/UL will utilize the Rocket Grant to address cultural assimilation, which has damaged the immigrant community’s responsibility towards social consciousness – both in the United States and in their native lands. Funding will support a second children’s coloring book, entitled #Caravana43. This project will include a call to artists of color to update existing illustrations of the book and provide a series of lesson plans. The purpose of this project will be to expose children to social justice issues, and specifically events in Ayotzinapa.

09BurkholderLead artist Diane Burkholder says: “The Rocket Grant also will enable us to put a call out to artists to assist in the creation of Black Lives Matter (BLM) Coloring Books for children and adults. The books will honor communities who are affected by violence and victims of police brutality, including youth, women, queer/trans, and disabled individuals, all of whom are often marginalized. We use coloring books to connect with the BLM movement and as therapy, to help unlock our imaginations and to reconnect with our childhoods – a simpler, less stressful period of life.”

The funding will also support four community healing events throughout the community. These will focus on areas of Kansas City that are not generally exposed to the arts.

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OneStruggleLogo1 Struggle KC was founded by 5 community activists in October 2014. We are opposed to violations of human rights via police brutality, economic exploitation, and to the prison and military industrial complex. We stand with Ferguson and oppressed communities everywhere when we say “One Struggle!” Recognizing that there is Una Lucha, One Struggle KC aims to engage the Kansas City community by beginning a much-needed conversation discussing how all oppression is linked. The Ferguson uprising occurred because of years of anti-black law enforcement violence. That same violence is inflicted upon communities of color and poor communities in the Kansas City area and beyond.”

One Struggle Points of Unity:
1. We oppose the oppression of nations and support the right of self-determination of oppressed nations.
2. We are opposed to all forms of patriarchy and patriarchal violence and support the emancipation of women.
3. We support the liberation of all genders and oppose the oppression of LGBTQ people by institutional and cultural bigotry, violence and other oppression.
4. We oppose class exploitation and support the struggles of the working-class and working-class activists.
5. We oppose the role of the United States as an imperialist power both locally and internationally.

1SKC Group

Una Lucha KC is a grassroots organization working in favor of oppressed communities regardless of gender, race, religion, sexual orientation, social status or immigration status. Our objective is to educate and support the community in regards to political and social issues that affect the Latino community in the United States as well as in Latin American countries, so that we may come together to create plans of action and resistance.

One Struggle KC/ Una Lucha KC demonstrations have taken place across Kansas City. Public statements of solidarity are empowering and healing. http://https://onestrugglekc.wordpress.com

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