Detroit Narrative Agency created the Radical Remedies rapid response video project to urgently  address the dual pandemics of anti-blackness and COVID-19, posing the question—What do  resilience, resistance, joy, grief, and collective care look like during this time?

As Philadelphia experiences the same afflictions of anti-blackness amidst a global pandemic, join us for a specially curated selection of radical remedy responses which offer guides of action and resistance. Created by Black, Latine, and Indigenous people of  color within Detroit and the greater Michigan region, these works are a collective callout to expressing the resilience of our communities. In response Scribe has launched its of own Radical Remedies call for works, Radical Remedies Philly(Apply Here! https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/MZKVXFB).

We will be joined by Ryan Pearson, Director/Co-Director of Programs at Detroit Narrative Agency.

Solidarity: First your liberation, and then mine by Inside Southwest Detroit
The film centers 40 days of solidarity and movement building in Detroit following the murder of George Floyd at the hands of the Minneapolis Police Department amid national uprisings in support of #BlackLivesMatter and the introduction of the Breathe Act led by Movement for Black Lives' policy agenda.

313 Liberation Zone  by Alyssa Rogers
This video is a documentation of two occupation actions organized by just a few Detroiters. The video captures our purpose for occupying the zones along with the emotions of being in the space. Liberation zones represent every aspect of the Radical Remedies solution to the two pandemics our community faces. Liberation Zones center Black joy while being an act of civil disobedience calling for the defunding and demilitarization of the Detroit Police Department. We resist the systems that are oppressing us and have the resilience to continue to be on the streets until change is made. While centering Black joy we openly educate on mutual aid and collective care, driving home the idea that we keep us safe. As well as discussing how we can care for each other, we create a safe space to grieve for those we have collectively lost.

The Call  by Costa Kazaleh Sirdenis, Salakastar and Chris Jakob
The Call explores the use of ritual, movement, poetry and vibration to connect with our past and our ancestral lines in order to heal and evolve in the present moment.

Kesswa's Quarantine V-Log by Kesswa
Kesswa’s Quarantine Vlog is a documentation of her socially distant self care practices, through nature, telecommunication and aesthetic.

Featured in this short, Antonio Cosme is a community member who brings people  together to be empowered with knowledge and experiences that are not only healing but necessary in the face of these global crises.

Taking care of the land and coming together as a community is not familiar to most people in the city. As Antonio Cosme mentions, most of us from urban circumstances do not join our neighbors to tap into maple trees for syrup or make our own honey by bee farming. These experiences bring joy and teach us what collective care looks like. It is a form of resistance to the injustices happening to our communities because it facilitates collective healing and teaches us to be independent as we become more knowledgeable about our rights to the land and how we can cultivate it for our good.

A Space for my Sisters and I by  Olivia Eshe
Olivia Eshe's short is centered on the belief that Black folks take intentional time to practice self-preservation and heal as a community. "During this time I choose to take care of myself as resistance; leaning on my sisters were I lack and offering what I have to give. Time and time again Black women are expected to uplift and support our community and are left behind to nurture ourselves. I created this concept to provide a space for Black women to intentionally escape and heal together without expectations."

Joy Remembers by VenusLoc
Joy Remembers is a reflection of VenusLoc's personal process of coping with the fear of the unknown in consideration to both pandemics. For her, "the harsh contrast of joy as a young child and the current remnants of the Michigan Central Train Depot tells a very familiar story of generations of resilience of BIPOC amongst the oppression of systemic racism."

In the Yoruba spiritual tradition of "IFA," Omiero refers to the sacred water that is infused with herbs and used for blessing and carrying out specific spiritual tasks. 
Omi translates to "Water" and Ero translates to "Cure" or "Antidote."
Omiero explores the connectivity that exists between water's bond with descendants of enslaved people, and the way that water has been used as a conduit of healing and messaging in the womb, in ritual, baptism, spiritual bathing and across Diasporic identities and practices. 
In the film, water is seen as a living entity that can be summoned for healing.

With the need for folks to emphasize "social distancing," it felt important to highlight these connections and the memory that water keeps of all of our connections over time. The suggestive healing in bodies of water served to center self care, spiritual hygiene and finding the joy, grief, or release that is necessary to tap into resilience.

Radical Remedies: Shorts from Detroit Narrative Agency