A Prayer for the Runner

Live Performance by Patrisse Cullors, followed by a talk-back with Melina Abdullah.

Patrisse Cullors’ newest performance piece is a public act of mourning centered on a prayer she co-wrote with Damon Turner, prompted by the modern-day lynching of Ahmaud Arbery. Talk-back to follow with Melina Abdullah, touching on grief, parent-child relationships, and healing.

“This piece takes us through ritual, prayer, and ancestry. Black death, trauma, and pain are age-old crises. Our bodies have been used as sacrifice. How do we manage? What role does collective prayer have and how can it inspire our healing?” – Patrisse Cullors

Patrisse Cullors is one of the most important artistic voices of our time. Her work lies at the intersection of activism, performance art, and queer identity. Internationally respected as the co-founder of Black Lives Matter, the seminal civil rights movement in recent U.S. history, Cullors has also revolutionized the American incarceration system through her initiative, Reform L.A Jails, which successfully advocated for the release of California’s inmates in response to the threat of COVID-19. 

Melina Abdullah is Professor and former Chair of Pan-African Studies at California State University, Los Angeles, founder of the Los Angeles chapter of Black Lives Matter, and a mother of three.