Right On! social justice art walk
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About
At the height of the BLM movement and the rise in Asian hate crimes in 2020, conceptual artist, Angie Eng developed her civil rights series ‘Right On!’
Wooden plaques painted in various shades of skin tones contain dates and QR codes. These dates refer to landmark Supreme court cases tracing systemic discrimination based on class, race, ethnicity, gender, and ability. The QR codes lead to a site that describes each court case decision.
The form of the 12” x 12” plaque with just a date is an homage to the conceptual artist, On Kawara and his Today Series. Following an open-air art exhibit of the plaques, an initiative to Stop Asian Hate was conducted by the Center of Humanities at the University of Colorado, Boulder. Subsequently, ‘Right On!’ became a public art action in the form of a silent procession. The first art walk took place in Boulder, Colorado then in Sacramento,California. See the Press Release for more information. Read more about the Right On! art project.
The Sacramento procession
The Right On! social justice art procession was replicated in downtown Sacramento, California on March 25, 2023, with the addition of traditional Asian music percussionists. Artist Angie Eng, partnered with producer Jason Jong to expand the procession to include 80 performers, musicians and volunteers and took place near Capitol Mall and started at the Robert Matsui Courthouse, the original place of Japantown and Chinatown. The performers walked in silence in a 12-block radius with a slow, deliberate pace wearing the Right On! t-shirts that featured Supreme court cases targeting Asians of the past 170 years.
Landmark Court Case
Posters below showcase dates corresponding to landmark court cases targeting Asians in America. Some dates were distributed in downtown Boulder and the CU Boulder Campus. [ Hover over thumbnail for large view and to scan QR code for information concerning each date.] View entire list of 48 Supreme Court civil rights cases highlighted for the Right On! project.
Thank you supporters of Right On!
[photos above by Bryan Lai]
Right On! Sacramento Team
Sponsors
Heros ($1000+)
ABAS Law Foundation, Asian Pacific Islander American Public Affairs (APAPA) Asian Resources Inc.(ARI)/ Stop Asian Hate, Roger Fong, JACL Florin, Sacramento Office of Arts and Culture, Alex and Joyce Eng
Champions ($500-999)
CACS, Julie Eng, OCA, Sonney L. Chong Dentistry, Capital
Advocates ($250-499)
Jerry Chong, Clarence Chu, IOBY, Josh Kaizuka
Activists ($100-249)
Ernie Boone, Lorraine Emery, Christine Eng, Ron and Linda Eng, Pattie Fong, David Kakishiba, Johnston Lau, Oranit Limmaneeprasert, Honey Lum, Anh Phong, Chia Rawlins, Crystal Strait, Darren Suen, Amy and Duper Tong, Nancy and Darryl Woo, John Yoshikawa, Barbara Takei and Toso Yoshinori.
Ally ($20-75)
Frank Adams, Carl Burson, Lydia Deng, Lisa Fong, Erv and Catherine Gon, Yvonne Jung Hatano, Carolyn Hashimoto, Greg Hood, Sharon Ito, Jason Jong, Mike and Priscilla Jong, Tom and Wanda Kato, Betty and Paul Keller, Minh L., Anita Low., Dani Lee, Dova Lewis, Cheryl Leonard, Stan Steeves, Lois V., Cheryl Vannier, Jerri Shikuma, Rick Wong, Allan and Virginia Yamashiro.
The Boulder procession
On October 8th, 2022 in Boulder, Colorado, 30 locals identifying as Asian American, Pacific Islander, Southeast Asian and Asian participated in the ‘Right On!’ social justice art procession. The group walked in silence through the downtown area to be a living billboard to educate the community on systemic racism.
Testimonies
…an immersive art experience, an act of protest that links past and present, a commemoration of the multiple harms and injustices that Asians in America have faced, and an educational opportunity for those participating and witnessing this performance to learn about Asian American history and how to combat anti-Asian racism. Watching Eng and other Asian American bodies walk deliberately and carefully in predominantly white spaces and to take up space and have others stop, watch, and observe is a testament to what powerful art can and should do. -Dr. Jennifer Ho, Chair Ethnic Studies CU Boulder, author
This walk was very empowering to me. I felt proud of who I was and inspired to do more for my community-Sydney Kheng, President of Asian Unity CU Boulder
Special thanks to supporters of Right On! Boulder
The Boulder call to action was co-sponsored by CMCI/IAWP and the Center for Humanities, CU Boulder, The City of Boulder Human Relations Commission, and the Boulder County Arts Alliance. [photos above by Bryan Lai]
Thank you to those individuals for their direct support for the Boulder event: Noah Anast, Ellen Do, Joyce Eng, Alex Eng, Lori Emerson, Jennifer Ho, Joshua Kaizuka, Bryan Lai, Stephanie Nguyen, Andy Noguchi, Kate Nicholson, Erik Castro, Patricia Kelly, Robert Ransick, Fumie Shimada, Nancy and Joe Walker. Special thanks to the co-sponsors, donors, and collaborators of this project: The Center for Humanities, CU Boulder, the City of Boulder Human Relations Commission, IAWP, of CMCI CU Boulder, Boulder County Arts Alliance, BLDG61, Boulder County Hazardous Waste, Rob Hendershot Maker Micro, Makerspace Media Studio, Transforming Creatives, Atlas Institute, Asian Unity, and Pi Delta Psi.
