We the News is a newsstand that distributes immigrant-focused publications and products. It features zines that archive stories and conversations by Black immigrants from the Caribbean and Africa, and first-generation Black Americans, collected during a series of private story circles. Past story circles were organized in partnership with the Black Alliance of Just Immigration (BAJI) and took place in Bed-Stuy and Flatbush, Brooklyn. After each gathering, zines were designed and edited in collaboration with the participants to later be distributed via the newsstand. The first public intervention of the newsstand launched in the summer of 2018 at the Queens Museum and will continue to act as a mini sidewalk festival with music, zine reading, and poster workshops celebrating Pan-Africanism and redefining what sanctuary means for immigrants.
The design of the stand is meant to allow for easy transport and quick expansion into the use-able form. The form when closed is a simple box and when expanded is a playful expression meant to catch the eye of passers-by. The material is a weather resistant marine fir plywood reminiscent of Donald Judd.
Lizania Cruz is a participatory artist interested in the effects of migration as related to notions of citizenship, identity, and ways of belonging. As she reconciles with her own Caribbean diaspora, Lizania utilizes different frameworks to explore these themes, together with others from Black diasporic communities. Participants take an active role in shaping their own narratives, which are shared through printed matter, object-making, and photography created by Lizania, to inform the public.