Photos and article by Jordan Somers

Sociologist and prolific author, Ruha Benjamin, joined forces with Arte Noir founders Jazmyn Scott and Vivian Phillips at Town Hall Seattle to discuss the small, daily choices we make as individuals, and how those changes collectively lead to a better tomorrow.  

Benjamin, a professor of African American Studies at Princeton University, is an expert and researcher on race, technology, and justice, both in micro and macro scales. Her newest book, “Viral Justice: How We Grow the World We Want,” recounts her deep personal and familial experiences and interlaces them with the focal issues plaguing today’s America, including the travails of racism, criminal justice, and the American Healthcare System.  Through this exploration, Benjamin spoke with the audience about the necessity of the passion, healing and community-building required for revolution and reform.  

Phillips, Founder and President of the non-profit organization ARTE NOIR, and Scott, Executive Director of Arte Noir shared their relative experiences, opportunities, and inspirations with Benjamin in a Q&A discussion format.  Both long standing pioneers in the field of community and strategic development for a multitude of visual, audio and live arts-based programs, Scott and Phillips facilitated the conversation through direct interpretations and remarks from the contents of Benjamin’s book.

Together, Benjamin, Scott and Phillips envisaged a more optimistic outlook toward systematic change and reform.  They acknowledged in many facets the depth of pain experienced as the result of a broken system, but also urged participants not to discount the blossoming shifts in resilience, innovation, change, and collective healing on a massive scale.  It is within these shifts, however subtle, that true change can be realized and be collectively channeled into a more harmonious, just world.