Radical Rest:
Restorative Practices and Collective Care

Houston, Texas is widely recognized as a major cultural center in the United States and across the world. Its cultural life draws strength from the innovation, resources, and commitments of local Black community leaders and organizations. Each February, public celebrations of Black history depend on the extraordinary work of community organizers coordinating Black cultural programming in the present. In March, we claim our right to rest, radically.

The Fifth Annual Black Houston(s) Symposium, titled “Radical Rest: Restorative Practices and Collective Care,” will convene artists, scholars, athletes, organizers, and community members to explore the dynamic ways in which Black Houstonians have moved, been moved about, and been moved upon—politically and historically. “Radical Rest” offers a cross-disciplinary symposium that interrogates the legacies and contemporary realities of Black embodiment and sport in Houston, from the professional arena of NRG to the pedestrian pick-up games of Emancipation Park. In doing so, we spotlight the physical, symbolic, and structural dimensions of Black movement—both celebrated and surveilled—across the city’s sports arenas, community centers, dance floors, and public parks.

Hero Image: Garrett Bradley, America (video still), 2019. Multichannel video installation.