June is National Gun Violence Awareness Month and BACKBONES invites you to join and meet those in our Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) community that have been injured by gun violence and are working in disability justice, community building and gun violence prevention. Meet the Reality Poets – an artist collective of current and former residents of a long-term care facility on Roosevelt Island in NYC with the mission to spread a message of realness, resilience, and healing.  (Photo Credit: Irina Island)
 
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Special Guests:

VINCENT “V” PIERCE

Born in Newburgh, New York, Vincent Pierce is a music producer, gun violence survivor and community organizer. At the height of the pandemic he founded Nursing Home Lives Matter to protect the lives and freedoms of the primarily Black and brown residents of the facility where he lives on Roosevelt Island. He envisions NHLM growing into a national movement. Vince is co-director of the arts-and-justice initiative OPEN DOORS and a Reality Poet. The artist collective used to travel around the city sharing their poetry and stories. They continue to do so through virtual events. In 2019 Vince produced his first hip-hop album, OPEN DOORS Reality Poets Vol.1., and with a grant from the Center for Cultural Innovation launched the music program ZING!, aimed to keep kids off the streets and in the studio. (Photo Credit: Elias Williams)

ALHASSAN “EL” ABDULFATTAAH

EL was born and raised in Fort Greene, and spent his childhood between Brooklyn and the Bronx with his parents and four siblings, with whom he remains very close. In a case of mistaken identity, El was shot in a drive-by shooting in 2012 that left him paralyzed from the waist down. Today, El is a proud member of the OPEN DOORS Reality Poets—an artist collective committed to disability justice, community building and gun violence prevention. He is also a core member of the OPEN DOORS Design Team, using bold graphics to creatively inspire and uplift the community. (Photo Credit: Elias Williams)

LEVAR “VAR” LAWRENCE

LeVar “Var” Lawrence was born and raised in Fort Greene, Brooklyn. While other children were out playing, Var spent countless hours inside nurturing a love of drawing. At the age of 28, Var was shot over a dice game, leaving him paralyzed from the neck down. He lives in long-term care on Roosevelt Island, and is a proud member of the OPEN DOORS Reality Poets—an artist collective committed to disability justice, community building and gun violence prevention. Var has kept up his visual art practice, using a stylus to manipulate photos on his phone into striking portraits and landscapes. A dedicated family man, he returns regularly to Fort Greene to spend time with his five children. (Photo Credit: Elias Williams)

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