Local leaders are shining a spotlight on the legacy of Black art.

Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins (D) and Sen. Shelley Mayer (D) hosted a event called "Black Art As Resistance."

The event highlighted local Black artists who use their work to make a statement and how art can be used as a form of resistance and healing. "I am a strong believer that in order to know where you're going, you have to know where you come from. Like Nina Simone said, the arts shall reflect the times," says Stewart-Cousins.

Local artists talked about the ways art can be used as a form of healing in traumatic times.