“The artists that we selected, we gravitated to them because they are healing artists. Their work is beautiful, it is life affirming,” says Maud Alcorn, Betti Ono’s arts and culture project manager.

In addition to raising awareness, the Betti Ono team has a political objective: to rally support for a statewide version of the Protect Black Women and Girls Act, which Illinois Congresswoman Robin Kelly introduced in the House of Representatives earlier this year. If passed, the bill would create a task force to study and strategize around disparities that Black women face in education, economic development, healthcare, employment, housing, justice and civil rights.

This isn’t the first time Betti Ono Foundation has advocated for policy: Since 2019, they’ve partnered with several other social justice organizations on the Not One More Girl campaign for public transit safety. The campaign spurred statewide legislation that requires transit agencies to collect data on harassment and roll out safety solutions with rider input.

As they turn their focus to the Protect Black Women and Girls Act, organizers hope Black women won’t have to carry on this fight alone. “The community-building portion of it is essential,” says Alcorn. “It’s the most important part of having not just Black women and girls saying, ‘Hey, our lives have value and are worth fighting for, are worth protecting.’ It’s also having our allies show up and say the same thing.”