Originally conceived and presented as a performance art piece in 2019 by Dea Jenkins, "Blk Halos" is an expanded exploration of contemporary Black identity built on and in honor of Black ancestral legacy. "Blk Halos" is an amalgamation of textile art, photography, poetry, and song. In its current form, the project seeks to honor contemporary cultural thought leaders like Dr. Cornel West and Dr. Willie Jennings while also weaving ancestral thought and creative practices into new forms. Through the acquisition and creative exploration of natural materials relevant to the African diaspora's broad-reaching history, "Blk Halos" wrestles with the question Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. posed over seventy years ago: Where do we go from here?

"Here" implied a racist-tinged reality for Dr. King and his contemporaries. In the 21st century, we are still grappling with similar, though distinct, challenges as we struggle as a nation to acknowledge and heal from our collective history. Rather than proposing diluted solutions, "Blk Halos" aims to honor the rich cultural heritage of Black America, to offer a space of both lament and celebration for people of color, and to invite the broad public into healing dialogue and collaborative making.