Resistance Is Happening Now: Archiving the Black Lives Matter Movement

SXSW in Austin, TX at Satellite Ranch | March 7-15, 2025

Don’t Shoot Portlands’ commitment to activism and preservation continues in this Liberated Archives for Black Lives series during SXSW 2025.

Liberated Archives for Black Lives amplifies the ongoing struggle for human rights by centering the solidarity and advocacy work of local organizers as an ongoing collaboration series between activists, archivists, librarians and museums dating back to 2011.

We recognize that systemic discrimination is sustained by historical and social factors, requiring intentional efforts to identify and dismantle. This is where our installation, Resistance is Happening Now, bridges the gaps to educate and facilitate critical dialogues about white supremacy in America.

This installation features law enforcement documents, surveillance reports, media headlines and archival public records relative to national uprisings that intersect with todays’ global movement for human rights and dignity. Local protest photography spanning over a decade of Portland community action honors the resistance of organizers and advocates.