July 2020, Ashley Bohanon designed and contributed two repurposed blazers for Emily Roggenburk’s Black Lives Matter one-of-a-kind collection. Ashley began the project by writing out her thoughts in marker, using shades of red, orange, blue, black, green, gold, and purple. Bohanon used those same colors to draw the images that came to her mind. One of those images was a flame. That flame represents fire and rage from those who face oppression, racism, and discrimination. It also symbolizes the world’s anger (particularly her anger as a Black woman) felt and demonstrated after witnessing the murder of George Floyd. Red for Bohanon is symbolic for her bloodline and for strength. It is important for her to acknowledge the strength of the generations before her and all that they had endured as Black people. Finally, red is one of the three colors that represents the Motherland- AFRICA. Before being kidnapped into slavery, Black people were Kings and Queens in their land. Therefore, Bohanon felt that it was important to adorn this piece with gold pendants to serve as a reminder of the true history of African American people.
BLM Design Collaboration with Emily Roggenburk
