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The Indiana Daily Student

PHOTO STORY: 'Your mere existence is an act of activism'

Meet some of the Black activists who are working toward change in Bloomington.

Bloomington's Black activists have long been fighting for change. But 2020 has been different. Between the COVID-19 pandemic, a contentious election season and the mass movement against racial injustice, this year has been overwhelming in all kinds of ways. So how do local activists balance everything? And what keeps them going?

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Vauhxx Booker talks about his past as an activist Sept. 4 in People’s Park. After being “almost the victim of an attempted lynching” July 4, Booker said he is in the eye of the storm as he waits for the next step to begin after his alleged attackers were charged. Courtney Stapleton
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The City of Bloomington mural located in People’s Park has been painted over with the words “BLACK LIVES MATTER.” The message was painted on June 19, but the artist is still unknown. Courtney Stapleton
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Gather is a retail gift shop that showcases local handmade goods in Bloomington. Storefronts on the courthouse square painted their windows and hung signs this summer in support of the Black Lives Matter movement. Courtney Stapleton
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Ky Freeman, president of Black Student Union at IU, poses for a photo Sept. 23 in Dunn Meadow. As the leader of BSU, Freeman said many students look to him on how to react to events happening this year. Courtney Stapleton
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A man sits and listens to other demonstrators speak about Breonna Taylor on Sept. 23 in People's Park during a solidarity demonstration organized in response to the Breonna Taylor case charges. Afterward, the group marched to the courthouse square to honor Taylor with a moment of silence. Courtney Stapleton
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Demonstrators marched to the Courthouse Square in Bloomington to kneel and raise their fists for a moment of silence for Breonna Taylor on Sept. 23, 2020. After kneeling, demonstrators returned to People’s Park to disperse together safely.
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Citizens gathered for a solidarity demonstration in People’s Park on Sept. 23 in Bloomington after the Louisville Metro Police Department officer who shot and killed Breonna Taylor was not charged for her murder. Food and drinks were brought by organizers in case demonstrators needed anything. Courtney Stapleton
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A demonstrator chalks the sidewalk of People’s Park during the solidarity demonstration Sept. 23 in Bloomington. The cement was blank before the demonstration began, but filled up quickly with chalk designs. Courtney Stapleton
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Demonstrators march to the courthouse square Sept. 23 in Bloomington during a solidarity demonstration organized in response to the Kentucky attorney general's decision to not charge any of the police involved in Breonna Taylor's murder. Taylor was a Black medical worker who was fatally shot in her apartment in Louisville while officers were executing a no-knock search warrant. Courtney Stapleton
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Amani Holder-Dixon is the secretary of the Black Graduate Student Association at IU. Holder-Dixon said she has tried to create an environment in this organization that feels safe and welcoming, even when the rest of the world may not be. Courtney Stapleton
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Jada Bee explains her products to customers at the People’s Market on Sept. 26 in Bloomington. The money she raises from selling Black Lives Matter signs, masks and T-shirts all goes back into BLM activism. Courtney Stapleton
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Jada Bee sells some of her own handmade products including candles and hand cream at the market on Sept. 26 in Bloomington. Bee said that making these products gives her something to do when she’s up late at night worrying about the state of the world. Courtney Stapleton
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Jada Bee talks to customers at the People’s Market about her handmade products near the Bloomingfoods East parking lot Sept. 26 in Bloomington. “The world is burning but at least I can make something nice,” Bee said. Courtney Stapleton
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Jada Bee is a core council member of #BLM B-town and one of the founders of the People’s Market, which is an all-inclusive farmer’s market in Bloomington. She makes her own candles and body products to sell each week at the market. Courtney Stapleton
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Ky Freeman and Joshua Pack wait to help people register to vote at Reserve on Third apartment complex on Oct. 3 in Bloomington. The Black Student Union has partnered with various organizations this semester to try to get as many students registered to vote as possible. Courtney Stapleton
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Lauren McCalister, a farmer at Three Flock Farm and one of the leaders of The Plant Truck Project, works in the garden to prepare it for the colder months on Oct. 6 in Ellettsville, Indiana. She has been a farmer for the past 7 years. Since that time, McCalister’s farm has grown to include a large and still-expanding garden, 40 sheep and 20 chickens and will hopefully have a greenhouse in the future. Courtney Stapleton
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Lauren McCalister works in the garden with Kate Seader to cover the beds for the cold season on Oct. 6 in Ellettsville, Indiana. Covering the beds with cardboard helps protect and heat the soil so it can continue to produce nutrients for the future. Courtney Stapleton
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Lauren McCalister pulls plants from the garden Oct. 6 in Ellettsville, Indiana. The Plant Truck Project, a BIPOC-led initiative that works to make healthy food accessible to those who have been discriminated against and have historically been denied land and food, operates on a sliding scale which bases prices on the customer’s ability to pay. Courtney Stapleton
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Three Flock Farm’s chicken population is not currently laying any eggs, which Lauren McCalister believes could be caused by the chickens being overworked in their younger years. McCalister said they are being “freeloaders” right now. Courtney Stapleton
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Three Flock Farm has around 40 sheep. They aren’t just any regular sheep though — they have four horns due to a rare genetic mutation caused by recessive genes. Courtney Stapleton
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Lauren McCalister is a farmer in Ellettsville, Indiana, who focuses on getting people access to local, nourishing food. She keeps this small, plastic chair in the garden when she needs time to think and listen to the land. Courtney Stapleton
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