REST IN PEACE, THE MATERNAL BOND

Friends and family found their beloved unexpectedly dead of natural causes. Although they were only 30, that's well beyond the life expectancy of similar bonds. The severed Umbilical Cord leaves behind two sons who will remember the sweet disposition of the departed and not the agony of trying to prove themselves. In lieu of flowers, please kindly tell yourself your mother isn't always right.

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NANA NANA

Precious Nana Nana, died quickly of COVID last week. I imagine her resting in peace somewhere in the ethers. We met when I was 8 years old, being a child of so many divorces led to an abundance of extra family sometimes. Nana Nana welcomed us in like any lovely Polish Great Grandmother would, with big hugs and nourishing food. She smiled so much and so often you could barely see her eyes, I’ll never forget those eyes. And watching her in the kitchen felt like being at the theatre to me. Amazed

with each calculated step she made,

steps she had so clearly practiced thousands of time before.

 

I made stuffed cabbage in her honor this week; as the reality of being a child of so many divorces also means disconnections of an abundance of the extra family you once knew. Cooking is a way I honor those I love. Mustering up the memories of the kitchen, surprised by what resurfaced. Each step, like a dance into the past. I folded, stirred, and cut love into each ingredient  of that meal, just as Nana Nana had done so many times for me. 

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THREE BOTTLES OF GIN

 

I drank three bottles of gin in the first two months of Quarantine. Now they sit behind my desk, empty, waiting to be thrown out or used in an art installation.

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100s OF THOUSANDS

As the COVID-19 death toll in the US crept closer to 100,000, our editor asked the Facebook hivemind who out there had lost someone to the pandemic of 2020. It was a resounding “Yes.” 36 people responded that they had indeed known someone to pass away from the virus that shook the globe to its core. For one person to be connected to nearly 40 deaths illustrates how close each one of us is to infection. 

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BLACK AND BROWN PEOPLE MURDERED BY POLICE

The militarized police force in the U.S. continues to commit extrajudicial executions of Black citizens at a horrifying rate. Take the time to read the following list of names, which is but a fraction of those gone too soon at the hands of those sworn to protect and serve. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Eric Garner - New York, NY

John Crawford III - Beavercreek, OH

Michael Brown - Ferguson, MO

Ezell Ford - Los Angeles, CA

Dante Parker - Victorville, CA

Michelle Cusseaux - Phoenix, AZ

Laquan McDonald - Chicago, IL

George Mann - Stone Mountain, GA

Tanisha Anderson - Cleveland, OH

Akai Gurley - Brooklyn, NY

Tamir Rice - Cleveland, OH

Rumain Brisbon - Phoenix, AZ

Jerame Reid - Bridgeton, NJ

Matthew Ajibade - Savannah, GA

Frank Smart - Pittsburgh, PA

Natasha McKenna - Fairfax, VA

Tony Robinson - Madison, WI

Anthony Hill - Chamblee, GA

Mya Hall - Baltimore, MD

Phillip White - Vineland, NJ

Eric Harris - Tulsa, OK

Walter Scott - North Charleston, SC

William Chapman II-Portsmouth, VA

Alexia Christian - Atlanta, GA

Brendon Glenn - Los Angeles, CA

Victor Manuel Larosa-Jacksonville, FL

Jonathan Sanders - Stonewall, MS

Freddie Blue - Covington GA

Joseph Mann - Sacramento, CA

Salvado Ellswood - Plantation, FL

Sandra Bland - Waller County, TX

Albert Joseph Davis - Orlando, FL

Darrius Steward - Memphis, TN

Billy Ray Davis - Houston, TX

Samuel Dubose - Cincinnati, OH

Michael Sabbie - Texarkana, TX

Brian Keith Day - Las Vegas, NV

Christian Taylor - Arlington, TX

Troy Robinson - Decatur, GA

Asshams Pharoah-Manley-Spauldings, MD

Felix Kumi  - New York, NY

Keith Harrison McLeod-Reisterstown, MD

Junior Prosper - North Miami, FL

Lamontez Jones - San Diego, CA

Paterson Brown - Richmond, VA

Dominic Hutchinson - Riverside, CA

Anthony Ashford - San Diego, CA

Alonzo Smith - Washington, DC

Tyree Crawford - Newark, NJ

India Kager - Virginia Beach, VA

La’Vante Briggs - Durham, NC

Michael Lee Marshall - Denver, CO

Jamar Clark - Minneapolis, MN

Richard Perkins - Oakland, CA

Nathaniel Harris Pickett-Barstow, CA

Bennie Lee Tignor - Opelika, AL

Miguel Espinal - Yonkers, NY

Michael Noel - St. Martin, LA

Kevin Matthews  - Dearborn, MI

Bettie Jones - Chicago, IL

Quintonio Legrier - Chicago, IL

Keither Childress Jr. - Las Vegas, NV

Janet Wilson - Dearborn, MI

Randy Nelson - Athen, AL

Antronie Scott - San Antonio, TX

Wendell Celestine - Pittsburgh, PA

David Joseph - Austin, TX

Calin Roquemore - Beckville, TX

Dyzhawn Perkins-Buckingham County, VA

Christopher Davis - Milwaukee, WI

Marco Loud - Houston, TX

Peter Gaines - Houston, TX

Torrey Robinson - Port Richey, FL

Darius Robinson - Anadarko, OK

Willie Tillman - Fayetteville, AR

Terrill Thomas - Milwaukee, WI

Sylville Smith - Milwaukee, WI

Alton Sterling - Baton Rouge, LA

Philando Castile - St. Anthony, MN

Terence Crutcher - Tulsa, OK

Paul O’Neal -Chicago, IL

Alteria Woods - Gifford, FL

Jordan Edwards - Balch Springs, TX

Aaron Bailey - Indianapolis, IN

Ronell Foster - Vallejo, CA

Stephon Clark - Sacramento, CA

Antwon Rose II- East Pittsburgh, PA

Botham Jean - Dallas, TX

Pamela Turner - Baytown, TX

Dominique Clayton - Oxford, MS

Atatiana Jefferson - Fort Worth, TX

Christopher Whitfield-E. Feliciana Parish, LA

Christopher McCorvey  - Mobile, AL

Eric Reason - Vallejo, CA

Michael Lorenzo Dean - Temple, TX

Desmond Franklin - Cleveland, OH

Breonna Taylor - Louisville, KY

George Floyd - Minneapolis, MN