For everyone. For you. By all of us. Join us.
TENEILLE PROSPER
Teneille, a New Orleans native and mother of three, is an African American artist, storyteller, and activist. Her work explores cultural identity, misogynoir, historical trauma, and social justice through figurative painting and mixed media. At Xavier University she studied under artists John T. Scott, Ron Bechet, and Richard C. Thomas. After two decades in Atlanta raising a family, she returned home to embrace her role as a cultural bearer. Her recent exhibitions include CAC’s Who Lit the Fire and Spillman | Blackwell’s Embodied. She was a 2024 Joan Mitchell Center Artist-in-Residence and will attend the Yaddo residency in New York this summer.
TENEILLE PROSPER
She Walks With Them
Let's make our shared ideals a reality. For everyone.
The women are not depicted in still, calm portraits, but rather moments of action, urgency and demand. The iconic slogans of the movements they led and were a part of are shown in the banners interspersed in the mural. It’s important that we feel the energy of their work: they gave everything, for they took the risks, made the stands and sacrificed much. Progress wasn’t given, it was hard-fought and won. And, importantly, they didn’t win progress just for themselves – they did it for everyone.
And their work changed the face of our nation in tangible ways. That’s why behind them you see the newspaper headlines tracking their achievements and breakthroughs. Their struggle for freedom has expanded liberty for us all. And like all of us, I owe a great deal of my freedom to their work and it was important for me to honor them in this piece.
At the center of the design is a young Black woman in mid-stride, looking into the phone that she’s holding. She’s in full color – she’s the present, the now.
She is walking into the new era of activism-the future, depicted by the messages that are coming out of her phone. They are quotes and questions that can help us reimagine what might be possible – and what we are called to:
“I am no longer accepting the things I cannot change. I am changing the things I cannot accept.” ANGELA DAVIS
“When the world is silent, even one voice becomes powerful.” MALALA YOUSAFZAI
“One person with passion is better than forty people merely interested” MARY MCLEOD BETHUNE
And three questions for each of us…
“Where does your activism begin?”
“How will you use your voice?"
“What story are you telling the future”
At the edges, you see the heavy pixellation of our history and our future, which speaks to its lack of clarity. The stories of our past – which so fundamentally shape how we understand the present – can be easily distorted or forgotten, if we don’t work to preserve them. The stories of our future are yet to be written – and we have to grasp the pen to write them. It’s up to us.
Which brings us back to the young woman: the now. Her hair is in braids, proud of her identity and speaking to the ongoing struggle to end the discrimination against natural hairstyles and hair textures.
She’s wearing typical, everyday clothes – t-shirt and jeans. There is no uniform to activism. There is just doing it. In one hand, she holds her cell – her path to digital power, so vital now. In the other hand, she holds a bullhorn, speaking to the importance of using your voice in person, locally, to mobilize communities of people to work together.
Like her – I believe you and I stand in that unbroken lineage of activists. Just as these incredible women in this mural played a crucial part in weaving the fabric of America, so can we. We have a voice. It matters. So how will we use it? Where does your activism begin?
Teneille’s “If I Could Tell You Just One Thing…”
Preserve our history for our future. I believe history is fragile, capable of being forgotten within a generation if not actively preserved. History – and a full understanding of its truth and complexity – is the foundation on which we have to build our future. Without it, how can you have a strong direction? How can you know how to improve? Be engaged with learning and sharing history, so that we can create a better future for all of us.
She Walks With Them
Teneille
Prosper
For everyone. For you.
By all of us. Join us.
the artist's inspiration
When I thought about the theme of Still We Rise, I thought about the connection between the past, present and future. Not one of us is separated from the context of the world we exist in – we are a result of what has come before, and our future will be because of us. We exist in a continuum of human agency and life. When you realize that, you realize we cannot afford to lose our history – and we have the agency to shape our future.
At the start of She Walks With Them is a black and white mural of the women who pioneered the path of activism against injustice. There is an unbroken lineage of Black women who have shaped history – and this nation – through their resistance, wisdom and power. These women were visionaries who redefined what was possible in their time. They paved the path for us and simultaneously call on us to pave the paths for future generations.
In the mural you can see figures including
-
Harriet Tubman, who risked everything to lead hundreds of enslaved people to freedom via the Underground Railroad.
-
Sojourner Truth, a powerful speaker whose “Ain’t I A Woman?” speech challenged the exclusion of Black women from both the women’s rights and abolitionist movements.
-
Ida B. Wells, who fearlessly exposed the horrors of lynching and co-founded the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) – a pioneer of both journalism and justice.
-
Diane Nash, a fearless civil rights strategist who led successful sit-ins and Freedom Rides for justice campaigns.
-
Rosa Parks, who refused to give up her seat, sparking the Montgomery Bus Boycott that was a seminal event in the Civil Rights Movement – proving quiet defiance can shake a nation.
-
Shirley Chisholm, who was the first Black woman elected to Congress and to run for president.
-
Fannie Lou Hamer, who gave voice to Black voters in the South through her tireless activism, including as a founder of the National Women’s Political Caucus.
-
Anita Hill, who spoke truth to power in front of the world, igniting a national conversation about sexual harassment.
-
Leah Chase, a beloved New Orleans Creole chef who used her Dooky Chase restaurant to hold strategy meetings to support civil rights activists and promote justice through community and culture.
-
Sybil Haydel-Morial, a New Orleans native who advanced civil rights through education, activism, desegregation efforts, and empowering Black communities.
-
Elizabeth Eckford, one of the Little Rock Nine, whose iconic image of her walking through a racist crowd served as a powerful symbol of bravery and resilience in face of adversity.
-
Ruby Bridges, who became a symbol of civil rights courage as she – the first Black student in New Orleans – bravely walked into a newly integrated school at the age of six.
-
Stacey Abrams, who founded Fair Fight Action in 2018 to address voter suppression and was instrumental in increasing voter turnout.
-
Angela Davis, whose life symbolizes radical resistance against racial injustice and fought against prison abolition.
CAPITOL PARK, detroit
june 2024
Let's make our shared ideals a reality. For everyone.
teneille prosper
Teneille, a New Orleans native and mother of three, is an African American artist, storyteller, and activist. Her work explores cultural identity, misogynoir, historical trauma, and social justice through figurative painting and mixed media. At Xavier University she studied under artists John T. Scott, Ron Bechet, and Richard C. Thomas. After two decades in Atlanta raising a family, she returned home to embrace her role as a cultural bearer. Her recent exhibitions include CAC’s Who Lit the Fire and Spillman | Blackwell’s Embodied. She was a 2024 Joan Mitchell Center Artist-in-Residence and will attend the Yaddo residency in New York this summer.
The women are not depicted in still, calm portraits, but rather moments of action, urgency and demand. The iconic slogans of the movements they led and were a part of are shown in the banners interspersed in the mural. It’s important that we feel the energy of their work: they gave everything, for they took the risks, made the stands and sacrificed much. Progress wasn’t given, it was hard-fought and won. And, importantly, they didn’t win progress just for themselves – they did it for everyone.
And their work changed the face of our nation in tangible ways. That’s why behind them you see the newspaper headlines tracking their achievements and breakthroughs. Their struggle for freedom has expanded liberty for us all. And like all of us, I owe a great deal of my freedom to their efforts and it was important for me to honor them in this piece.
At the center of the design is a young Black woman in mid-stride, looking into the phone that she’s holding. She’s in full color – she’s the present, the now.
She is walking into the new era of activism-the future, depicted by the messages that are coming out of her phone. They are quotes and questions that can help us reimagine what might be possible – and what we are called to:
“I am no longer accepting the things I cannot change. I am changing the things I cannot accept.” ANGELA DAVIS
“When the world is silent, even one voice becomes powerful.” MALALA YOUSAFZAI
“One person with passion is better than forty people merely interested” MARY MCLEOD BETHUNE
And three questions for each of us…
-
“Where does your activism begin?”
-
“How will you use your voice?’
-
“What story are you telling the future”
At the edges, you see the heavy pixellation of our history and our future, which speaks to its lack of clarity. The stories of our past – which so fundamentally shape how we understand the present – can be easily distorted or forgotten, if we don’t work to preserve them. The stories of our future are yet to be written – and we have to grasp the pen to write them. It’s up to us.
Which brings us back to the young woman: the now. Her hair is in braids, proud of her identity and speaking to the ongoing struggle to end the discrimination against natural hairstyles and hair textures.
She’s wearing typical, everyday clothes – t-shirt and jeans. There is no uniform to activism. There is just doing it. In one hand, she holds her cell – her path to digital power, so vital now. In the other hand, she holds a bullhorn, speaking to the importance of using your voice in person, locally, to mobilize communities of people to work together.
Like her – I believe you and I stand in that unbroken lineage of activists. Just as these incredible women in this mural played a crucial part in weaving the fabric of America, so can we. We have a voice. It matters. So how will we use it? Where does your activism begin?
TENEILLE’s “If I Could Tell You Just One Thing…”
Preserve our history for our future. I believe history is fragile, capable of being forgotten within a generation if not actively preserved.
History – and a full understanding of its truth and complexity – is the foundation on which we have to build our future. Without it, how can you have a strong direction? How can you know how to improve?
Be engaged with learning and sharing history, so that we can create a better future for all of us.
explore the theme
THEME
STILL WE RISE
Still We Rise celebrates and tells the story of people who have transformed the universe of the possible through their impact across our society, from the everyday spaces of our lives to the global stage.
PURPOSE
in our relationship with ourselves.
WORTHINESS
I am worthy of love dignity and respect.
AWARENESS
I know how I see the world and where it comes from.
BELIEF
I believe I have something valuable to offer.
PURPOSE
I know what inspires me and what I want to do.
THEME
STILL WE RISE
Still We Rise celebrates and tells the story of people who have transformed the universe of the possible through their impact across our society, from the everyday spaces of our lives to the global stage.
explore the theme
STILL WE RISE
the artist's inspiration
When I thought about the theme of Still We Rise, I thought about the connection between the past, present and future. Not one of us is separated from the context of the world we exist in – we are a result of what has come before, and our future will be because of us. We exist in a continuum of human agency and life. When you realize that, you realize we cannot afford to lose our history – and we have the agency to shape our future.
At the start of She Walks With Them is a black and white mural of the women who pioneered the path activism against injustice. There is an unbroken lineage of Black women who have shaped history – and this nation – through their resistance, wisdom and power. These women were visionaries who redefined what was possible in their time. They paved the path for us and simultaneously call on us to pave the paths for future generations.
In the mural you can see figures including
-
Harriet Tubman, who risked everything to lead hundreds of enslaved people to freedom via the Underground Railroad.
-
Sojourner Truth, a powerful speaker whose “Ain’t I a Woman?” speech challenged the exclusion of Black women from both the women’s rights and abolitionist movements.
-
Ida B. Wells, who fearlessly exposed the horrors of lynching and co-founded the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) – a pioneer of both journalism and justice.
-
Diane Nash, a fearless civil rights strategist who led successful sit-ins and Freedom Rides for justice campaigns.
-
Rosa Parks, who refused to give up her seat, sparking the Montgomery Bus Boycott that was a seminal event in the Civil Rights Movement – proving quiet defiance can shake a nation.
-
Shirley Chisholm, who was the first Black woman elected to Congress and to run for president.
-
Fannie Lou Hamer, who gave voice to Black voters in the South through her tireless activism, including as a founder of the National Women’s Political Caucus.
-
Anita Hill, who spoke truth to power in front of the world, igniting a national conversation about sexual harassment.
-
Leah Chase, a beloved New Orleans Creole chef who used her Dooky Chase restaurant to hold strategy meetings to support civil rights activists and promote justice through community and culture.
-
Sybil Haydel-Morial, a New Orleans native who advanced civil rights through education, activism, desegregation efforts, and empowering Black communities.
-
Elizabeth Eckford, one of the Little Rock Nine, whose iconic image of her walking through a racist crowd served as a powerful symbol of bravery and resilience in face of adversity.
-
Ruby Bridges, who became a symbol of civil rights courage as she – the first Black student – bravely walked into a newly integrated school in New Orleans.
-
Stacey Abrams, who founded Fair Fight Action in 2018 to address voter suppression and was instrumental in increasing voter turnout.
-
Angela Davis, whose life symbolizes radical resistance against racial injustice and fought against prison abolition.