Tomashi Jackson in conversation with Nia K. Evans, Prentiss Haney, Lisa Owens, and Marshall Shorts

Tomashi Jackson identifies as a painter and printmaker, yet her works are often three-dimensional, made up of layers of paper, textiles, plastics, embroidery, prints, photo transfers, wood armatures, and more—all of which revolve around tight, ethically driven humanist narratives and research. Her research-laden pieces connect history and archives with the current moment. Recently, she’s addressed the displacement and disenfranchisement of Black and brown communities; previously, her works examined segregation in the US. A standout artist of the 2019 Whitney Biennial, her works are in the collections of major institutions, including the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, and the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles. Jackson is featured in The Artsy Vanguard 2020.

Nia K. Evans is the Director of the Boston Ujima Project. Her educational background is in the areas of labor relations, education leadership, and policy. Her advocacy includes a focus on eliminating barriers between analysts and people with lived experiences, as well as increasing acknowledgement of the value of diverse types of expertise in policy. She is a cocreator of Frames Debate Project, a multimedia policy debate project that explores the intersection between drug policy, mental health services, and incarceration in the state of Massachusetts. Ms. Evans has a BS in Industrial and Labor Relations from Cornell University and a Master of Arts in Education Leadership, with a course of study in Leadership, Policy, and Politics from Teachers College at Columbia University. She also studied abroad at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia, where she focused on International Labor Relations.

Prentiss Haney is a community organizer, artist, and the co-executive Director at Ohio Organizing Collaborative, an innovative statewide organization that unites community organizing groups, labor unions, faith organizations, and policy institutes to build a transformative base of power to achieve social, racial, and economic justice in Ohio. Haney started with Organizing for America, registering students and building campus teams across the state. He then joined Ohio Student Association to continue building student power, serving in various capacities from training coordinator to regional team lead, communication director, and more. He has trained hundreds of young leaders in grassroots organizing and led racial justice and higher education campaigns across the state. Haney has a BA in Urban Affairs, Wright State University, and currently lives in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Lisa Owens is the Executive Director of the housing justice organization City Life/Vida Urbana, which builds the power and leadership of working-class communities, particularly communities of color, to work for social, racial, economic, and gender justice. Their work is to stop the displacement of working-class communities through “the sword” (community organizing and public pressure), “the shield” (coordinated legal defense), and "the offer" (community ownership of land and housing). At City Life, she actively fights for bold tenant protection policies and the expansion of antidisplacement community land trusts in Massachusetts. Owens has been actively involved in building grassroots organizations and supporting emerging leaders for over 25 years. A seasoned popular educator, she also teaches courses on structural racism, social welfare policy, participatory action research, and leading social justice nonprofit organizations. She serves on the boards of several organizations connected to community control of land and housing.

Marshall Shorts is a creative director and designer in Columbus, Ohio, by way of Cleveland. He is the founder of Artfluential (formerly Soulo Theory Creative), a design consultancy that brings culturally informed creative direction, strategy, and design to small businesses, agencies, and creatives. He’s also a cofounder of Creative Control Fest, an annual conference and platform that centers creatives of color and advocates for diversity within the creative class. As an adjunct professor at his alma mater, Columbus College of Art and Design, Shorts’s passion for design is only rivaled by his commitment to being a community resource and advocate for artists, students, and Black entrepreneurs.