The Art of Grief: Preserving Black Lives Against Systemic Violence - Police Brutality

Abstract

Black people in America have been uniquely subjected to pervasive forms of violence deeply embedded within the systems that govern their lives—violence that has shaped their experiences and defined their very sense of being. This thesis examines the lived realities of Black individuals as they confront systemic violence, focusing particularly on how state-sanctioned harm, such as police brutality, is internalized and transformed. It argues that grief—both Black grief and Black maternal grief—not only responds to systems designed to dehumanize and oppress but also becomes a powerful site of resistance. Grief opens pathways through which Black people actively challenge the structures that seek to subjugate them, reclaiming their humanity in the process. Through an exploration of grassroots memorialization movements in Minnesota, this project investigates how, in the midst of grief, communities cultivate acts of resistance through remembrance. These commemorative practices carve out sacred spaces that honor Black lives and assert their continued presence in the face of systemic erasure. Building on this foundation, the thesis explores how art operates as a form of resistance, examining physical artworks and creative expressions that embody and extend this legacy of defiance. The final section offers reflection and forward-thinking theorization, focusing not only on what it means to preserve Black lives, but also on how to imagine Black futures.