Portraits from 6ft

08/16/2020

Dionne Sims, , with her dog Nova at a park near their home. Dionne is the founder and owner of , the only Black-owned bookstore in Minnesota. The name "Black Garnet" comes from the symbolic attributes of that gem: strength, safety, and self-empowerment—all things she found through literature and hopes to bring to others through the bookstore. In connection to the meaning, Black Garnet Books will primarily stock YA and Adult literature exclusively written by authors of color, with a priority toward Black voices.

"I made a fateful tweet about wanting to start a bookstore, and within three weeks, I began stocking a bookstore filled solely with the works of authors of color! I hope this is merely the start of Minnesota embracing the dreams of young, Black people with visions of what can, and should, be.

To fund the store, we created a GoFundMe, reaching way beyond our stretch goal. To see folks come together to spread the word about this bookstore, make the GoFundMe happen, AND financially back it in a month has been so beautiful and overwhelming in the best way. I'm so grateful for the sheer enthusiasm surrounding filling this gap in the Minnesota indie book community and meeting the desires of people who want to see diverse literature highlighted and prioritized. Thank you for helping make this dream a reality. I can't wait to get books in y' alls hands and see your faces in person!" @ Martin Luther King Recreation Center

07/29/2020

Jamil and Sara, founders of , a unique therapy practice derived from art, body movement and the celebration of culture. Since the murder of George Floyd, Jamil and Sara have been leading Community Healing Sessions each Wednesday at 5:30 pm in Adam's Triangle Park. They also started offering free or reduced costs therapy services for BIPOC individuals, thanks to generous donors and supporters. This fund can be supported here, https://www.gofundme.com/f/creative-kuponya-support-fund-for-healing

"Jamil and I have always been active in our communities, trying to make a difference. Jamil is a lifelong mentor to African American youth and young adults, and we have been providing mental health services through nonprofits for at least a decade. We started Creative Kuponya after our daughter Zola was born, on a mission to provide therapy that was not dictated by insurance companies and that was fit for people of all walks of life. Creative Kuponya means "creative healing," the creative a nod to my therapy work, and kuponya, healing in Swahili, a nod to Jamil's cultural roots.

When we learned that the building Creative Kuponya's office was in, the Ivy Art, was on fire during the rebellion, we were stunned. We rushed over, and the fire trucks were still there spraying it off. We snuck into our office, trudging through water up to our shins to retrieve a beloved painting from our office and anything else that we could wrap our arms around—all the while lil Zola in tow.

But there were so many other people hurting worse than we were. I knew that Jamil and I had to do something more. Individual therapy was great, but our entire city was in pain, and for our BIPOC neighbors, it was a continuation of lifetimes of racism and tragedy. So Community Healing Sessions were born. Monday night, we put the idea into motion, and by Wednesday evening, we sat with over 100 people that came with the hope of finding healing. We have continued to provide these sessions every Wednesday night and plan to continue until the end of the summer and then offer "pop-ups." @ Adam's Triangle

07/20/2020

Erin Sandsmark, , is an artist and teacher living in Minneapolis. Currently she works as an art instructor for ArtiCulture and MCAD Continuing Education. When not teaching, she's painting in her home studio on personal work and commissions. She is also the Vice President of the Freeborn County Arts Initiative out of Albert Lea, MN. Erin's paintings are all about the body, and reclaiming space. Many of her paintings focus on her fat body, sharing its size, beauty, and power.

"My body has been a source of fascination throughout my life. I have gone through many eras of hate, disregard, and love for the limbs and fat rolls that accompany my body. By exposing myself through painting, I have regained my power. My self love and acceptance happened through painting, and I want to use it to advocate for the fat community, promote body liberation, and share amazing stories.

Before the pandemic hit, I had been primarily focused on my teaching career, however COVID-19 has stopped all of my teaching jobs since March. I have had to rely on unemployment benefits to get me through the past couple of months, and I have shifted most of my energy into selling my work. It took a pandemic, but I've started to create a small stream of commissions and sales due to necessity, and it has given me purpose during this time. I don't know what the future holds, but I know painting and creating will be a constant for me.” @ Minneapolis, Minnesota

07/09/2020

Cierra and Kezyia, both recent high school graduates and Bakery Assistants at Cookie Cart, , a nonprofit bakery. Before COVID-19, Cookie Cart hired 40 new youth employees, however, for the safety and well-being of youth employees, in-person bakery shifts were canceled and moved to online training. The team's bakery production has continued thanks to a core team of bakery staff, including Bakery Assistants. For Cierra, finishing her senior year from home has been a stressful experience:

"Before Covid-19, I was Queen C of my high school. I recently started a student Union for African descent students at Johnson High School called the Black Student Union. I was excited to do many things with the group before I graduated.

This pandemic made the rest of my senior year difficult. Online school was not been great. It's not fun learning electronically. My week consisted of going to work and going home to do homework. Since we didn't have a proper graduation ceremony, it would be great if the community can support high school seniors with a celebration of some kind." @ Cookie Cart

06/24/2020

Erinn Farrell, Chief Creative Officer at the Coven, .co, a community and workspace designed with women, non-binary, and trans people in mind. Pictured at home with her two kids. Since the murder of George Floyd and ensuing protests, the Minneapolis Coven turned into an emergency resource drop site in partnership with Women for Political Change (), with the intent to use the temporarily closed space to house and ferry essentials to neighbors in need.

"We've shuttled hundreds of carloads full of food, water, toiletries, diapers, medicine, and more from The Coven Minneapolis to emergency sites around the Twin Cities in partnership with more than a dozen community groups. We've moved hundreds of thousands of dollars of goods thanks to our staff and a tireless team of volunteers who showed up day after day to ensure the well-being of our fellow citizens. We sunset the public drop site on June 19. Still, We will continue to work with corporate partners to facilitate large donations and help support sustainable solutions for the months and years ahead.

Our support of the community will also extend into a new round of community funded memberships launching this summer granting no-cost access to our physical and digital spaces giving access to our member portal, private member groups, and virtual programming through 2021.

The Coven unequivocally, fiercely, and joyfully stands for the belief that Black Lives Matter. As founders, we demand justice, we long for peace, and we know one without the other is impossible. It's been our mission from day one to create physical and psychological safety, and our community we serve has broadened to encompass the businesses and neighborhoods forever altered."

06/22/2020

Caleea Kidder, a mother of three kids under eight at her home in St. Paul. She recently finished working as an Assistant Principal and is transitioning into her new role as Principal at another school in July. Working full-time and caring for her children has been tricky to balance but challenged her to focus on what matters.

“Before the coronavirus pandemic, I was already triple booked and overworked. Once our school shut down, all my kids were home, and my job in school leadership asked for all my energy for all my students and families, I had to hit the brakes. My husband already works remotely full time, so his work expectations didn’t change at all. We slowed down, prioritized, and figured out what we wanted: family harmony, time away from screens, and balance. We’ve distracted ourselves in the backyard, constantly gardening and tending to our brand new baby chickens. Then, as soon as our world started to stabilize, George Floyd was murdered. This tragedy made me double down on prioritizing what mattered: family, health, community. I’m transitioning to a new job as a school leader at Community of Peace Academy in July and feel like the call to bring more peace to our world has never been stronger.”

06/16/2020

Lissa Karpeh is a Liberian-American painter whose work explores the double consciousness of the black identity from her first-generational identity. She is pictured in front of a mural she painted, followed by photos at her studio. Painting the mural helped her process her emotions in the aftermath of the killing of George Floyd.

“When these situations happen to black communities, black identities, and black bodies in America, we suffer beyond the scope of the event that took place. We find ourselves back to a tiredness sleep can’t fix, evoking emotions surrounding fear, doubt, and safety in this country.

The mural of George Floyd and his daughter was the best way I could make sense of what recently happened at the moment. I used Floyd and his daughter as my focus because I resonate with what it feels like to lose a father figure. When I was 17, my uncle was arrested and served eight years in jail for walking down the street and being identified as someone else. They stopped him while he was walking home. They jumped on him, and he pushed them off. My uncle had mental health conditions from back home in Liberia; during the war, he saw child soldiers cut a baby out of a pregnant woman’s belly. They didn’t recognize his illness and still proceeded to convict him for pushing the officers off him.

For eight years of my life, I went throughout life unprotected because I lost my uncle, a man who looked out for my mother and me. He stepped in the place of my father, who stayed in Africa, working as an Ambassador in Liberia, West Africa. For a black woman, the loss or incarceration of our father figures hits us hard. The pain expands past our childhood and into womanhood. Therefore, my soul cries out for Floyd’s daughter, who will grow up to know her daddy changed the world, and the American system changed her life.”

06/12/2020

Andrea Jenkins, a politician, writer, performance artist, poet, and transgender activist. She is the first black openly transgender woman elected to public office in the United States, serving on the Minneapolis City Council since January 2018. She stands in front of a sign with a poem she wrote titled “The Human Touch.” It reads:

“Strategize tomorrow, but when we say tomorrow, we really mean today.
Today breathe sigh shed tears
laugh
if that helps.
Call your mama
brother
daughter
sister
son
Tell them/you love them
Tell them we survived terrorism before
Lived through dehumanization and cultural starvation

Tell them not to think about
unarmed black folks
assaulted
killed-
for holding guns
selling loose ci******es
listening to rap music at a gas station
for knocking on the door and asking for help
for wearing bikinis at a pool party
for laughing on a wine train
for wearing hoodies
for going to church

Tell them to strategize about that tomorrow, but when we say tomorrow we really mean today.”

05/29/2020

05/23/2020

Sarah, , in front of her home on the last day of Ramadan. Tomorrow is Eid, which marks the end of a month-long dawn-to-sunset fasting. It is typically a big celebration, but this year due to Covid-19, it will be a little different.

“The pandemic started to get serious before the start of Ramadan. To be honest, there was always that small hope in the back of our minds that “maybe this will be over by Ramadan”. Then it turned to “maybe this will be over by Eid”. I don’t resent the precautions taken to keep everyone safe and healthy, but I can’t say I wasn’t saddened when I realized how different the holiday would be this year.

We didn’t have the traditional large gatherings in the evenings to break fast with friends and family throughout the month. We didn’t get to go to the masjids to pray at night and then go out to a 3AM breakfast with friends. Now that the month has come and gone, we are also going to be celebrating Eid in quarantine. We won’t be able to go to the masjid for Eid prayer in the morning or pack into a restaurant afterwards for breakfast. We didn’t get to bake and decorate Eid cookies with friends and family like we normally do. Instead my mom and I are baking and delivering cookies.

Being able to still share our traditional cookies with friends and family was a reminder that the traditions aren’t gone, they just look a little different this year. We broke fast with family over Zoom and talked almost every night. It also gave us more time in the day for prayer and reflection. The pandemic didn’t stop Ramadan from being beneficial and my favorite time of the year. I hope all those celebrating Eid remembers to make the most of the unique times were in and not forget the true meaning of this beautiful holiday. Eid Mubarak 🥳”

05/22/2020

Jaalisa, , and her husband Brendan, , with their five children at their home in Crystal.

“When COVID-19 started ramping up, I was already on a plane on my way to Texas to surprise my mom, who was recently diagnosed with breast cancer. I never imagined that it would get so crazy that I wouldn’t be able to visit her because she was high risk with her doing chemo. We did take advantage of the kids being out of school. We stayed in Texas for five weeks. Upon returning, we gave ourselves time to adjust to our new normal.

Distance learning has been interesting, but we finally got it down. We have established a routine and are genuinely doing well. We are natural homebodies, so being at home has always been something that we enjoyed. If I’m not outside taking photos of the kids to remember what we did during this time, I am in the kitchen making whatever I can from scratch. I am okay with things slowing down because now I can take more time to enjoy the things I love instead of rushing through them."

05/20/2020

Josh McClure, , DJing a socially-distanced 70th birthday celebration. The event is one of many on a fully booked weekend. Josh is a full-time DJ for weddings and mobile events who founded the company . Its mission is to unite the world, one dance floor at a time. In response to Covid, he partnered with his friend Joe Masek, , who created a mobile DJ truck, , focused on making a positive impact on the Twin Cities.

"When all our events started postponing, Joe had the brilliant idea to drive around to different neighborhoods to play tunes from afar. Channel 5 and 11 news got wind and did a special on Joe and his truck. That's when it exploded! Joe brought me on to help DJ and we have been able to bring our driveway dance party to dozens of neighborhoods around the Twin Cities. People need each other still, even if from 6ft. away. It has been surreal being a part of their joy!

We have been taking extra precautions to encourage folks to be responsible as they dance. Whether it is a birthday party, block party, or prom driveway party, folks have been very respectful... even when we play "Sweet Caroline" ;) “Thank you to everyone who has invited us out and donated to our cause. With love, DJ Josh & DJ Joe!”