Black activism makes an impact on Pittsburgh

that if black people just voted more, everything would be OK,” Ms. Lee said. “I challenge that. I used to believe in the importance of voting, but now, like MLK said, I feel like I’ve integrated myself into a burning building. That should light a fire under us to start supporting diverse candidacies.”

Jasiri X, the longtime activist, said he has noticed a new political fervor among black activists, and said it is important to “get some younger, more forwardthinking, progressive folks on the ballot.” A heightened interest in activism has impacted his own group. More than 40 people applied to be a part of the collective during a recent sign-up period, showing an unprecedented interest in using art to talk about issues of black pride and blackness.

It’s showing in their art. On Wednesday, Jasiri released a video for his song “The Whitest House,” which flashes i mages across the screen of the “sea of white men” holding the presidency. He said it is becoming more mainstream to talk about one’s blackness. In January, the collective launched its first Artivist Academy. Billed as “assembling an Artivist Army in Trump’s America,” the academy will focus on mentoring artists and activists to use their talents to fight injustices and advocate for social change.

“Now is the time more than ever for action. Trump being president might be one of the best things to happen to black people,” said artist Jordan Howard, who performs under the name LiveFromTheCity. “I felt like us seeing that mobilized us in such a way, OK. ‘Oh, we gotta do something.’”