We offer this ‘guide’ for artists to consider prior to submitting their works to BREATHE. 

Our Purpose
We seek to explore the intersection of artistic expression and politics with a focus on the racist and oppressive attitudes, behaviors and systems that harmfully impact the lives of Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) in the United States. We believe all Americans, including white Americans, have a great stake in dismantling racism. Although it is a daunting task to explore this intersection through artistic mediums, we collectively as editors seem to know it when it is done well. 

Our Motivation
I was inspired to launch BREATHE after the killing of George Floyd on May 25, 2020 and hearing the words of Keith Ellison, Minnesota Attorney General, charged with investigating the killing, who said, “We need arts and entertainment to help inspire us toward justice…The world of arts and entertainment can use their cultural influence to inspire change that we need.” In addition, the words of Toni Morrison also spurred me to act, “This is precisely the time when artists go to work. There is no time for despair, no place for self-pity, no need for silence, no room for fear. We speak, we write, we do language. That is how civilizations heal.”

What We Seek
We value artistic works that clearly and explicitly intersect with our political and social world affected by racism and other forms of injustice and oppression. We give highest priority to the personal artistic expression of poetry, visual arts, music, photography, book reviews and personal essays that educate and inspire us. On the other hand, we tend to avoid the polemic.

Leopoldo Seguel, Chief Editor and Provocateur