What-A-Week

Spicy Catfish Stew with Cornmeal Dumplings for relief.

We need relief from all the heart break we’ve been experiencing already this year. That looks different for everyone, but it is my hope that you are able to take the time to figure out what that looks like for you. Depression happens, grief is real and no one with a heart in their chest is exempt from feeling the weight of helplessness for a little while.

Photographs from the ‘Communion of the Spirits’ Quilt Project, taken by Roland L. Freeman. I found these through Blackarchives.co

Altadena’s on fire, Kantamanto Market in Ghana was set on fire by developers, and Gaza has been on fire. This week we were told a long overdue ceasefire was imminent and aid was going to finally be let in without the threat of the aid workers being murdered. Though it’s due to begin today, my disbelief outweighs my relief.

I’ve been in a funk. Sleeping until noon some days, grappling with the very real feelings related to displacement, loss, and the complete demolition of generational homes, this time taken by the fire and not a state commissioned bulldozer.

I remember when they started the demolition process in our neighborhood. Our home had a front row seat to witness this demeaning and soul stripping process. First they pull anything left in the home out into the yard. This display felt like an exhibition for those passing by. I remember they left things this way for weeks, and the rain came drenching remnants, mold and mildew took over, and then eventually a large yellow bulldozer broke open the roof, ripped apart the wood and the sounds that this made will forever stay with me and my brother.

Photographs from the ‘Communion of the Spirits’ Quilt Project, taken by Roland L. Freeman. I found these through Blackarchives.co

Watching Black people lose access to the accumulation of memory that exists in generational homes is something I still don’t have words for.