Bree Wayy: Promise Witness Remembrance (2021) - full transcript

(light, somber music)

- [Male Speaker] In the
presence of grace and grief,

the sun rose again,
we faced the east.

Take a breath, hold
it in, release.

You are precisely where
you were meant to be.

The theater's amiss
with exhibitionists.

Please do not conflate what
your reality is with this.

Instead, suppose you belong
to the continuous stream.

Juxtaposed with the
fleeting, you are infinite.

(cars rushing past)

- It was important to me
that I told the story,



just because I don't
know another person

who could have told it
better than me, just

because she was mine.

(soft, somber piano music)

Oh, Goodness, Breonna as a baby.

Breonna was easy.

She didn't cry a lot,
she slept all night,

she never was really sick,
she just was a great baby.

Everybody was like, "Oh,
I'll keep Breonna!" (laughs)

My cousin would always
say, "She's easy breezy!"

She was definitely
my first best friend.

We grew up together, I
was a kid having a kid.

She was great, she was fun.

Then, she started to grow up.



We always talk about
her having a old soul.

She loved to be around my
mother, and listen to blues.

She was just the best kid.
(rap music playing)

* But I still feel them *

* I just walked
in the building *

(singing and chattering)

(somber music)

(phone clatters to ground)

- [Camerawoman] Oh!

(chattering)

- When she started
to be a teenager,

she always would be like,

"Ma, stop getting your
hair braided all the time,"

'cause I always was like,
"Give me some braids

"and I can go
about my business."

"No, I want you to
wear some curls!"

I'm like, "Is you
crazy?" (laughs)

But then, there was
Breonna, and she was

such a diva from a little age.

And I'm like, "I don't
know what I'm supposed

"to do with that! (laughs)

"I don't know how," 'cause
I've never wore makeup,

I've never been a girl
in a dress growing up.

And then here she is,
all she wants to do is,

"I want to be made up
and wear these dresses!"

And I'm like, "Okay!" (chuckles)

She took so much pride
in how she looked.

(somber piano music)

She always talked
about being a nurse.

And I knew she'd end
up helping people,

'cause my mother had
diabetes, so she would,

"Can we go to my granny house

"so I can check
her blood sugar?"

I'm like, "Oh my god,
leave her alone!" (laughs)

But that was her thing,
and so everything

she kind of was doing in life

was getting her on the
path to be a nurse.

(gentle, somber music)

She was a planner.

Everything had to
be a perfect way.

She hated failure, she hated
for something not to go right.

She'd make these plans,
and that's the way it went.

I don't know if you've
ever seen her hair.

People say Breewayy
all the time,

and that's where it comes from.

It's like, "Oh my god,
if you don't do that,

"you better do it the Bre way!"

(chattering)

(shouting)

(music playing in background)

She's very family-oriented.

We have to have
these game nights,

or these family barbecues,
and she would put it together.

She's not gonna cook nothing,

but she'll (laughs)
put it all together!

She, yeah, she was
definitely the glue for us.

- [Interviewer] I love
hearing you talk about her.

- It's easy.

(somber piano music)

- [Kenneth] I don't
know what's happening,

somebody kicked in the door
and shot my girlfriend!

Help, oh my god,
Breonna! (sobbing)

Bre...

- I'm okay, I maintain it.

I think...

I'm still trying
to figure it out.

It's just, it still
doesn't seem real.

I don't know how
to get used to it.

So yeah, I have
good days and bad.

Just...

I just can't get used
to her not being here.

This here is Breonna's
vision board.

She was ready for life.

She was so excited to
be finding who she was,

and becoming who she was.

And so it was a lot of
promises to herself,

a lot of promises about who
she wanted to be and become.

She always talked
about her future,

and her having a baby,

and starting a
family of her own.

She put, at 26, she
would be ready, set,

and change the world.

And it's crazy, because
at 26, she was murdered,

which is insane.

"Timeless."

She didn't get that, though.

She just was robbed
of all of this.

(soft, gentle music)

This was actually one of
the very first paintings

that I ever got.

It was a local
artist here, Jaylin.

When I got this, I
couldn't believe it.

To just see anybody paint
her like that was amazing.

I never even thought
about people painting her,

what that would be, or why
anybody would want to do it.

So, I think that's
probably why this is

one of my favorites.

This is one one of my
friends did, Sheree.

She...

Yeah, of course, everybody
knows, Breonna and these,

she loves these butterflies,

she loves anything
that sparkles.

I have so much art that people
have sent me of Breonna,

and just to see all this
different creativity, to see

the different ways
people saw her,

not only that they did
it, but to find me,

to make sure that I got it,
that I could appreciate it.

So, this room was put together

to just honor all the people
who showed up for Breonna.

For me, I just kind
of come in here

and sit and be quiet, and not
have to worry about anything,

and just be surrounded
by Breonna, period.

- When I see the
paintings of my sister,

it's kind of like a
bittersweet type of thing,

because it's like... (sighs)

It doesn't fill the void
of her being actually gone.

But it does give you a sense of,

she is there, and
she's watching you.

I miss everything, honestly.

I miss her smell, her touch,

her voice, her laugh, her smile.

Miss it all.

- [Tamika] People share
these stories about

how Breonna has
affected their lives.

And now I know,

not everybody knows
how to protest,

or knows how to get involved.

And so then, that's
where you're learning

how this art comes into play.

They found their way to protest,
and that's what mattered.

We all got different
positions in this movement,

and to see how art's
been a part of history,

and to know that, I've never
paid it no mind before,

and it's such an important part.

(light, somber piano music)

- My process is my life,

because in my world, I
have sensations of freedom

that don't exist
in the real world.

And making these paintings
is a privilege in itself.

I walk into my studio
remembering that every day,

what a privilege it is to be
able to make these paintings,

to create something for my
people, for this country,

and connecting myself
to that kind of imagery

of self-satisfaction
and dignity,

and creating a
narrative that is,

for the most part, non-existent
in the American art canon.

I had never painted anyone

that was no longer alive
and living among us.

So, that was a big deal to
me, because I wasn't sure

whether I was gonna
be able to capture

what I think makes
the painting special,

which is this energy
transfer that happens

between the model
and the artist,

and the artist and the canvas.

I didn't want to do it unless

I was gonna be able
to find meaning in it,

and it was gonna be something
that was phenomenal.

(soft music box tune plays)

But something in my
gut told me to do it.

I reached out to her mom.

I just asked her to
send me a few pictures,

things that I was hoping
would not be in the public.

Because her image had been
replicated so many times,

I was trying to do
it in a way that

was gonna be
different and special.

(light, bluesy music)

- You know, I've
never dealt with art,

or never been a
part of that world,

so I never really knew
anything about her,

except for this one thing

everybody talks about,
Michelle Obama! (laughs)

And it's like, "Oh my god,

"this lady who painted
Michelle wants to talk to me!"

And I'm like, "I'm nobody,
I don't," (chuckles)

I didn't know what to
think, or what to say,

or how this
conversation would go.

But it was a very easy
conversation, she was beautiful,

and it was just about
knowing Breonna,

just making sure that
she would capture her

in the right element.

- I got the text,
and it was a video

of her and her mom
Double Dutching,

and Breonna had the ropes,
and her mom had jumped in.

And I got to hear
her giggle and laugh,

and I'm just like, "She
was a baby, a young woman."

And for all intents
and purposes,

this was an all-American family.

They drove around
in Dodge Chargers,

and her mom was part
of a motorcycle club.

I mean, how American
can you get?

- [Tamika] We just
kinda talked a lot about

what type of person she
was, and how she dressed,

and we talked about her wanting
to paint Breonna in a dress.

- We arrived at the model's
house and got dressed,

tried on the different dresses.

The one that I thought was
gonna work didn't work.

I remember walking
to the bathroom,

and I'm talking
to her, (chuckles)

which I know sounds
crazy, but I was like,

"Breonna, what color do
you want this dress to be?

"I need you to,

"I need you to talk to me, girl.

"Just tell me what color
you want this dress to be."

I want her to, I wanted
her to like it, you know?

And so, I get back
into the studio, and

as we're moving
from color to color,

the background at
that time was blue,

and then the dress turned blue,
and I'm like, "Wait, stop.

"I think that's it."

(unzipping garment bag)

So, this is Breonna's dress.

Looks very different.

Yeah, I made it a
little bit higher

for her than it was,

because I feel like
that's what she

(laughs) would have
wanted, as a 24-year-old,

a 20-something-year-old.

(soft, ethereal music)

It allowed you to
focus on her face,

and it had an energy that
was calming and peaceful

ethereal and strong.

And then on top of
that, it's a love story.

She had an image of
Kenneth's hand holding

the engagement ring
and the wedding ring

that he was gonna use
to propose to her.

I felt like that actually had

to absolutely be a
part of the painting.

And so, I asked
for his permission.

He was like, "Absolutely."

And so, that became
a part of the piece,

and her story, as well.

I think it's one of the
things that just, for me,

made it even more heartbreaking,

the loss of her life,
the loss of their love.

* I *

* Give it all away *

- [Amy] It's a painting of her,

it's a memory of an
American tragedy.

* I'll be home soon, I *

- When I saw it, it
just, it blew you away.

It blew you away.

And it really went
to who Breonna was.

- That necklace that she
wears in that is a necklace

that my grandmother had
worn before she passed,

and so Breonna always wore it.

And so just seeing
her in her blue gown,

being herself, it actually
felt like it was real,

and it was actually her.

- The painting was
sitting in my studio,

and I'm like, "Something
needs to happen to this."

And I felt like it should
go to the Speed Museum,

because this could
be a balm in Gilead,

it could be a way for

people to just find
some kind of solace.

(soft music)

- On March 13th, 2020,
we made the decision,

like a lot of institutions,

to close the museum
because of the pandemic.

What we didn't know was that,

in the early hours of that day,

a young woman named Breonna
Taylor had been killed

in her apartment in Louisville.

- This was in our neighborhood,
and it was one of our own.

So, Breonna Taylor
represents many of us.

And for so long, that
had been something

that was so characteristic
to black male experience.

This time, it was a
black female experience,

so it was the great equalizer.

Now, it's not them, those
people, it's all of us,

and it could really be me.

- We're an art museum,
we don't save lives,

we can't solve issues of
police brutality, we do art.

And that's why, though,

when we saw Amy Sherald's
portrait of Breonna,

we felt that maybe art had an
answer to offer Louisville.

(soft guitar music)

* Good Lord, bless
the seedlings *

* And the hands that keep them *

* The air above them and
the lands underneath them *

* It's not enough to love them *

* She said nurture
then you free them *

* Only those who take
advantage ever keep them *

* Steeped in tradition *

* The old heads
spoke, so we listen *

* And a few of us remembered
what was whispered *

* Play hard, play fair,
play your position *

* Walk good, be well,
be the difference *

- I knew that an
exhibition was something

that I wanted to do,
but I'm not a curator,

and so finding the right
curator was important for it.

Choosing Allison was
the best decision.

- I wanted to understand,
for Ms. Palmer,

what this exhibition
meant for her

and her daughter's legacy,
and she was very clear.

She wanted to show people
who Breonna really was.

She wanted to show that Breonna
brought people together,

and show the struggles
they're going through

and continue to go
through to get justice.

- And she said something
I'll never forget.

She said she loved the
portrait for the way

it depicted her daughter's
uplifting spirit.

And so I think that
shaped our vision, then,

that somehow, we
would do our best

to have the whole exhibit
in some ways embody

that spirit of her daughter.

- They definitely kept
me in a major part

of putting it all
together, so it was great.

And to work with Allison
was beautiful, and she just,

she has this beautiful spirit,

and she just was really
good to me and my family.

- Breonna was bright,
and her personality

was bright and colorful.

I asked Ms. Palmer, you know,

"What were her favorite colors?

"I heard she's
bright and colorful,"

and she said, "Purple
and Kentucky blue."

And so, I worked
with Adrienne Miller

on the Speed team to
find a blue black,

and that's the
color of the walls,

that deep, rich purple.

Oftentimes, what you're
reading in the galleries

is a voice of the museum.

This was something
very different.

(light guitar music)

- [News Anchor] Officers
say they were shot at

and they shot back.

Her boyfriend, Kenneth Walker,

was charged with attempted
murder for shooting at police.

* It's like they
came to get them *

* Like the main aim
was to hit them *

* Shame, shame the system *

* To add insult to loss,
now it's blame the victim *

* What's the cost to
get change around here *

* I'm just a stranger
passing through *

* What's that
hanging over there *

* Strange fool, so familiar *

* Hear the silence
and the dissonance *

(police sirens wailing)

* And they're coming,
you keep listening *

- [News Anchor] One year ago
today, Louisville police shot

and killed 26-year-old
Breonna Taylor.

So far, no one has been
directly charged with her death.

- [Allison] Hank Willis
Thomas makes work

about gun violence.

He lost his cousin Songha,

who was his best
friend, 20 years ago.

- [Tamika] The stars
was amazing to me,

to just realize,
all over the world,

that this is happening to
people with gun violence.

And so, to just actually be
able to see a star put down

for every single person
was amazing to me.

* When that bright
star collapsed *

* The world had to take notice *

* The so-called social
contract needs a makeover *

- When I received the
email from Steven Reily

to have the opportunity
to tell this story,

it was very personal.

I lost my brother
to gun violence

a year and a half ago, and

I know what traumatic loss
by gun violence feels like,

and what it does to a
family and a community.

My brother is on that flag.

* Let it breathe *

* Let us breathe *

* Let it breathe *

- [Allison] I think a big
part of telling the story

of Breonna Taylor is telling
the story around the protests,

and everything that followed.

- We wanted to
elevate somebody local

that hadn't been
discovered or elevated yet.

- I was in the army, I
was active in military,

I was medically retired,

so I picked up the camera as
a hobby about four years ago.

I really didn't start taking

pictures of people until last
summer, during the protests.

(light, tense music)

As that first night unfolded,

you could literally
just feel the emotion

coming off of people.

A lot of anger, you
know, just frustration.

The first one, it
was about a week

before the grand
jury announcement,

Tamika Palmer and her
family organized a rally.

A lot of energy, great march.

The second photo, another
really emotional day.

It was the day of the
grand jury verdict,

where Dan Cameron decided

not to charge any
of the officers

for anything regarding Breonna.

And I just remember,

once they got through
reading the charges,

everybody was kind of just
looking around, like it's,

"Hold on, is that it?

"It's over?"

And I mean, the
place just erupted.

It erupted.

- [News Anchor] Demonstrators
taking to the streets

in Louisville.

- [News Anchor] Dozens of
people were arrested last night

as several US cities
joined Louisville

in protesting the
grand jury's decision

not to indict any of the
three officers involved

in the Breonna Taylor
fatal shooting.

(light, somber music)

- It was an emotional day.

And I will say that day

was the first day that actually,

I kind of broke down

when I was going
through those pictures.

I literally broke
down that night.

Just, it was just
so much emotion.

I was inspired by
what I saw amongst

the day-to-day folks who were
just down there every day,

taking a stand.

So, I'm honored to
help tell the story of

what took place last summer.

- I truly believe
that photojournalism
has the potential

to change the world,
and change the outcomes,

and sway the outcomes
of different situations.

(somber piano music)

It was on May 28th, 2020,

my best friend called me

and told me that seven people
had been shot downtown.

So, we left, and went out,

and experienced a lot
of those protest scenes.

And I just saw that
there was a story there

that needed to be
told, about this woman,

this citizen of our city,

who was the reason
that people were out.

- Justice for black girls is not

just about mourning
us when we die!

It's about celebrating
us while we live!

- This photo was taken the day

after Kentucky Attorney General
Daniel Cameron announced

that there would be no charges

towards the officers
involved in the raid.

Led to a few large interactions

with the police in several
different neighborhoods.

Tons and tons of arrests.

The next morning, Travis was
doing one of his famous chants,

calling for everybody
to be let out of jail,

and you can tell, he's got a
pretty joyous look on his face,

you know, just got
a really soft smile,

which he pretty much always had.

It was a really
beautiful moment.

It was one of those moments
that I never would have imagined

would've been on a wall
of a museum in my town.

And that was the
photo that was used

at his memorial, as well.

He and his girlfriend were,

(somber music)

I think they were coming
back from a protest,

or they were on
their way to one,

and he had two men approach him

in front of his car,

and they shot him four
times in the heart,

essentially killing
him on the spot.

There's something
really interesting
about bearing witness

to instances of gun violence.

What do you do with the power
of witnessing these things?

Do you have the power
to do anything about it?

I try to observe while
being a good witness

to the history that's
unfolding in front of us.

(crowd chattering)

- In my curatorial practice,

I've really made
it my life's work

to focus on working closely
with artists and audiences

to call people into
a space who perhaps

feel disenfranchised.

(light, somber music)

- It can sound
silly to some people

that just don't understand it,

but to see yourself represented
in a space like that,

and museum institutions
are places that tell you,

"We hold these objects
that are valuable,

"we tell you what's important,"

it makes you feel important.

- [Allison] Having art by these
artists in these galleries

at the Speed Art Museum

is in effect a
decolonizing of this space.

The gallery that holds
Amy Sherald's portrait

of Breonna Taylor typically
holds a painting by Rembrandt

that is in the
Speed's collection.

- As I was walking,
seeing you today,

my emotion is so profound,

because there are
so many black faces

who were not invited
before to this institution.

This institution is yours.

The story that belongs
here is your story.

- I think the most successful
part of this exhibition

is that Tamika Palmer
feels happy in this space,

and that her family and the
Louisville community feel

that they belong here.

(soft music box tune plays)

- You get down here to the
portrait, and it's breathtaking.

And it's, you just
stand there, and,

most of the time, you just,

people are just standing
there staring at it.

It's not

even a lot to have
to say about it, just

the beauty in it, the
way she captured Breonna.

(soft, bluesy music)

To have it end up in a museum,

and it's gonna be a part
of history at this point,

it's unreal.

I've said it over and over,

I always knew she would be
great, I just never thought

it would be through
through this.

But Breonna always
brought people together,

and so I think that that's
what this exhibit has done.

People have traveled from
all over the world to see it,

and so, she's always
done that for us.

- Her life is more
than that one moment

that brought her into our lives.

She represents herself,
and she represents

so many other women who
were lost to gun violence.

But I just, I think

I just want people to
be able to breathe,

just take a breath,

and feel the peace that
painting is giving,

and from what her mother says,

feel the energy that
she would have given you

had she been in the room,

because she was a
joy to be around,

and I think that's what I
want people to leave with,

and to carry with them.

- [Interviewer] Do you think
she would like her portrait?

- She would love her portrait.

She would love it.

She would have felt like,
"Oh my god, I'm just,

"I'm so grown in this
picture! (laughs)

I'm so-
- Gorgeous.

- Yeah, she would've loved it.

She would've definitely
took pride in that.

I'm honored.

(light, jazzy music)

* Forget *

* What they say *

* When I look in the mirror *

* There's victory
all on my face *

* Who cares *

* What they say *

* Now that it's all over *

* I'm standing here
after the pain *

* I, I, I refuse to *

* Live my, live
my life in fear *

* Found that strength in me *

* To just go 'head and
kick down that door *

* And say go be free *

* Take your throne *

* I've been fighting this
war, been defeated before *

* I've finally
settled the score *

* Go be free *

* I'm so past second chances,
I've made up my mind *

* Checkmate, it's over,
you've run out of time *

* I am the one with
the crown on my head *

* And I'm doing just fine *

* Now I'm free *

* Free *

* Free *

* Free *