Speed of Life

Parkland father Manuel Oliver is connecting with voters about the necessity of gun safety reforms through his art. pic.twitter.com/5Ri8SIpEhp — Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) October 31, 2018 More at:  Manuel Olivier Remembers His Murdered Son and Inspires Us to Fight Gun Violence

by Gregg Chadwick (all photos by Gregg Chadwick) Today in Downtown Los Angeles, an empowered crowd joined Parkland, Florida father Manuel Olivier as he created a moving artistic tribute to the 17 shot and killed at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School - poignantly including his son Joaquin Olivier. We were comprised of Stoneman Douglas students and their families, past Stoneman Douglas graduates, and concerned community members. Manuel Olivier began with a blank surface set in place outside the Standard Hotel on 6th Street. With a deft combination of wheat pasted paper elements, brushwork, and bold spray painted passages, Olivier created the framework for a memorial to those senselessly cut down at their High School in Florida. Manuel Olivier creates a moving artistic tribute to the 17 shot and killed at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School - including his son Joaquin Olivier Once the artwork's structure was in place, Olivier moved to a more performance ba...

Gregg Chadwick speaks at the AACN Symposium at UCLA on Art as a Tool for Social Justice by Gregg Chadwick Last Thursday, I spoke at the AACN Symposium at UCLA on Art as a Tool for Social Justice.  It was an honor to speak at my alma mater. UCLA's  proud history of advancing civil rights was a prime reason I attended the university as an undergraduate.  I was inspired by the heroic stories of  UCLA alums:  Jackie Robinson as he broke the color barrier in Major League Baseball. Kenny Washington as he broke the color barrier in the National Football League in 1946 Ralph Bunche at the UN.  And as I learned later the advocacy for social justice by UCLA Nursing Grad AfAf Meleis. As I write this, I am reminded that six years ago today, 17-year-old Trayvon Martin was killed for simply being black in America. His death fueled a movement. I also remember that with millions of others, I marched on January 21, 2017 in the #WomensMarch. Our crowd in L...

A huge crowd of teens exiting Union Station and heading to the Capitol to  call for action on gun violence pic.twitter.com/5VVWGFTGij — Zoë Carpenter (@ZoeSCarpenter) February 21, 2018 Students at Maryland schools are walking out of classes today to take their message directly to the NRA sponsored representatives in Washington DC. As the Parkland survivors have demonstrated, now is the time for action against gun violence. “Don’t Shoot” was created in solidarity with Saturday’s #marchforourlives and in response to the horrific, senseless gun violence in America. The youth have stood up against the NRA and I applaud them. I will be at the March on Saturday and then make it back for the Santa Monica Airport Artwalk. May we join in the spirit of nonviolence and togetherness. #art #artandsocialjustice Jedediah Grady from Montgomery Blair High School in Silver Spring, Maryland: “I understand marching isn’t automatically going to change legislation...but it’s not just ...