About Us
THE ORIGIN STORY
It was the spirit of Nelson Mandela that brought founders Victor J. Gaddie and Joel Edward Goza together. In 2016, when Joel arrived at a speaking engagement, he was unexpectedly greeted by Victor’s portrait of Nelson Mandela. Central to his talk that morning was the power of Nelson Mandela’s revolution in South Africa.
Soon the portrait of Mandela was hanging over Joel’s writing desk. As Joel honed his craft as a writer, he continued to draw inspiration from Victor’s paintings. As Victor honed his craft as a painter, he immersed himself in Joel’s writings. Over time mutual admiration evolved into a transformative friendship.
The G&G Collective is a testament to the authentic relationship Victor and Joel have nurtured through their mutual commitment to art and activism that is deeply rooted in the Black Freedom Movement.
Victor and Joel know that there is power in the collective. That memory IS our weapon. Feel the spirit of The G&G Collective.
THE FOUNDERS
VICTOR J. GADDIE
Victor is a self-taught artist whose visual interpretations of Black peoples’ lived experiences are testimonies of their intensely personal stories, written on their very faces. Gaddie’s works are powerfully evocative of their hopes, dreams, and imaginations that he brings to The G&G Collective in order to stoke the hopes, dreams, and imaginations of us all. Working with acrylics and water-soluble oils, the portraits on display alchemize Gaddie’s life experiences with religion, the continent of Africa, and the ancestors and descendants of inspirational Black Americans. Victor is based in Houston, Texas with his family.
JOEL EDWARD GOZA
Joel is an author, essayist, and activist whose passion for history and social justice culminated in two books – America’s Unholy Ghosts: The Racist Roots of Our Faith and Politics and Rebirth of a Nation: Reparations and Remaking America. It is this passion that led to the co-creation of The G&G Collective as a way for others to repair and support social justice. The working title of his third book – Dust to Dust: Meditations on Striving and Surviving.
Prior to co-founding The G&G Collective, Joel worked on community-led urban redevelopment efforts in Houston’s 5th Ward and served as a professor of ethics teaching at an HBCU and in prisons. Joel is based in Louisville, Kentucky where he spends his off hours pestering his wife, two children, and dog Moses.