Activist names the black album winners

By Victoria Winkleman

For the past year, Golden Globe-winning actor, playwright and activist Regina Taylor has been partnering with Southern Methodist University’s Meadows School of the Arts on the black album, a multifaceted project exploring identity, activism, art and change. 

She launched the project as a platform for crucial conversations during this time of racial reckoning, exploring “how we as artists advance social justice in our work, and how we imagine, teach and create in the face of COVID-19.” 

One facet of the project was the black album. mixtape., which invited collaborators from various fields and in a variety of media to submit works exploring the questions: Where are we, how did we get here and how do we imagine and arrive at a better future? 

Through an open invitation issued on April 1, submissions of all kinds — photography, video, music, dance, monologues, interviews, poems and more — were encouraged from students, professionals and community members. Works were received from across the U.S. and abroad. Submissions were evaluated by a panel of 11 judges and considered for eight $500 cash awards in youth and adult categories of art, activism, innovation and STEM. The national winners, including students from SMU and Booker T. Washington High School in Dallas, were announced Tuesday night by Taylor at the black album. mixtape. culminating Block Party event. 

Hosted by Taylor, the block party also included guest artists, video and interview clips, examples of other outstanding artwork submitted and more.

“The recipients of the black album. mixtape. awards represent a myriad of voices in several fields who are shining their transformative light in these difficult times,” said Taylor. “I’m very honored to host them and a shining array on this site and to be a witness, recording this moment as we find our footing towards paths to a better tomorrow.”

During the past several months, the black album project has hosted virtual roundtables, dinner discussions and more than a dozen individual interviews featuring leaders in arts and activism across the country. Videos of the interviews and discussions are posted on the black album website at https://blog.smu.edu/theblackalbum.