maroonqueenreesie

Your Voice, Your Vote, Your Power!

My name is Cherice Harrison-Nelson AKA Queen Reesie of the Guardians of the Flame. A rite of passage in my family was being taken to register to vote. This past Sunday was the 58th anniversary of Bloody Sunday in Selma Alabama and what John Lewis and others suffered to ensure we are able to participate in the democratic process. My parents regularly reminded us of this and other pivotal events in African-Americans fight for voter rights. During the 2020 election I advocated voting by appearing over 50 times in a performance installation on St. Claude and St. Roch Ave.

I propose a multi-faceted project:

Short interview by my friend Freedom Rider Miss Dodi Smith-Simmons to serve as a voting ambassador through a brief PSA on the importance of voting.

The creation of a framed original beaded artwork on the theme to be used as cover art for printed materials.

My Mother is the founder of the Donald Harrison, Sr. Book program and has gifted over 40,000 new books to area children primarily in school settings. Through that organization, I proposed to create voting book bags for select teachers. The bag would include an age appropriate book on voting and a page of stickers for each child that tentatively will read, “Please vote, my future depends on it” to give to adults in their circle of love and care.