The Tamesis
“I’m not mad at you, man,” Renee Nicole Good, a poet and mother living in Minneapolis, told her eventual killer, the masked ICE agent.
Goode’s death, captured on video, has made global headlines and added fuel to the ongoing mobilization of civilians in Minneapolis against ICE. Her last words, reportedly spoken shortly before agents opened fire on her SUV, came amid protests in Los Angeles, Washington and Chicago, where President Donald Trump has ordered a crackdown on undocumented immigrants. At sunrise on Tuesday in New York City, another “sanctuary city” now besieged by federal troops, an artist began repeating Goode’s words outside a local ICE office to express dissent.
Related articles
María de Victoria, a performance artist who immigrated to the United States from Peru, wrote in a statement: “I stand with the innocent people living under systemic violence. By speaking these words out loud in public, I invite passers-by to consider what is often seen, unheard, or ignored.” (Desnivel Gallery in New York’s East Village represents her work.) De Victoria Wearing a coat emblazoned with Goude’s name, he chanted with concentration in front of the heavily fortified Jacob K. Javits Federal Building in downtown Manhattan, just blocks from New York’s Supreme Court.
“As an immigrant and formerly undocumented American, I offer these words as a personal testimony and social critique to honor all those whose humanity has been met with indifference,” she said.
The work ended at sunset in the evening, and de Victoria did not accept the invitation to look on, letting her dress and mantra speak for themselves. The piece ends in a silent vigil.
“This is a very critical time to talk to our senators. I called [New York Senator] De Victoria’s friend, Lynn Lakshmi Piddle, was at the Plaza, she told Chuck Schumer and emailed him on Saturday. art news. “Victoria chanted this mantra over and over again in front of all these officers.”
The artist has a long track record of endurance performances. Last June, during America’s Pride Month, she attempted to sing for 24 hours at New York City’s AIDS Memorial Park to commemorate the lives lost to the AIDS epidemic, paying special attention to the disproportionate numbers of marginalized communities around the world affected by the virus. “If you are moved by my actions, please sing with me,” she told the audience during her performance. She has also hosted events at bodegas, laundromats, and hardware stores, and in 2024 she co-founded Artists and Mothers, an organization that provides grants to emerging and mid-career artists who identify themselves as mothers, recognizing the economic and social barriers they face in overpriced cities.
“Even if you march by yourself, other people will join in and eventually you’ll start a movement,” DeVittoria said in an interview. impulse Magazine. “It’s important to stay at the forefront of your thinking when doing things: good ideas start with one person and grow from there.”
