LC Howard: Healing Through Art, Standing for Liberation
- bossbayarea
- Aug 14
- 3 min read
This year, as we gather for the 5th Annual Black August Block Party, BOSS is proud to announce our Featured Artist, LC Howard, a creator whose work is not only visually stunning but deeply personal, rooted in lived experience, healing, and the fight for justice.
LC is a Bay Area based visual artist, educator, and community builder.
Her canvases tell stories of resilience. Her brush strokes are declarations of survival. Her colors carry the weight of both grief and hope.
Two years ago, LC’s brother was killed by gun violence in Oakland. From that day forward, her art became her protest, her prayer, and her platform.
“My mission,” she says, “is to use my work to share an anti-violence message and inspire change.”
Every live painting, every workshop, every mural is an act of remembrance and a path for a future free from cycles of harm.
Where Art and Liberation Meet
Black August is a sacred month born in resistance, grounded in the struggles of political prisoners, and carried forward by communities determined to honor our past while building a liberated future. At BOSS, we root this commemoration in four pillars: art, culture, political education, and economic empowerment
LC’s journey embodies all four.
Her piece Turning Pain into Passion, created during the George Floyd protests, became a turning point—not just in her career, but in her purpose.
It was revolutionary art: unflinching in its truth, unapologetic in its call to action. Her commitment to art therapy as a healing tool mirrors BOSS’ own healing justice approach—meeting people where they are, acknowledging trauma, and transforming it into collective strength.
A Community Vision
This year, the Black August Block Party will transform Downtown Oakland’s Frank Ogawa Plaza into a space where the joy of creation and the urgency of liberation stand side by side. LC will bring her artistry to the heart of it all, painting live, connecting with the crowd, and reminding us that the act of creating together is itself a form of resistance.
BOSS has always believed that public art is a declaration. It tells our stories, centers our voices, and makes visible the struggles and victories that too often go unseen. LC’s art is exactly that: a public affirmation that healing is possible, that community is powerful, and that justice is worth the fight.
Why LC This Year?
As we mark the 5th anniversary of the Black August Block Party, LC stands in a lineage of artists who have used their craft to honor those lost, uplift the living, and challenge the systems that harm us. Like the Arc of Liberation mural unveiled at our first Block Party in 2021, her presence this year is a reminder that liberation work is ongoing, and art is one of its most potent weapons.
Her vision for the future, opening an art therapy space for survivors of gun violence aligns with BOSS’ mission to dismantle mass incarceration, end homelessness, and interrupt cycles of violence.
Together, we are building a movement where creativity fuels resilience and resistance fuels change.
On Saturday, August 30th, come witness LC’s artistry in action at the Black August Block Party. Bring your family. Bring your friends. Bring your stories, your joy, your grief, and your hope. Let’s gather under the sun in Oakland to honor our history, celebrate our culture, and imagine the future we’re fighting for.
Support this annual event via sponsorship or a donation in any amount. Thank you for rocking with us and we look forward to welcoming you Saturday August 30th for the 5th Annual Black August Commemoration.
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