Brentford #54 Hold on!
In which we find an analogy for how my brain has been not functioning lately
How Winnie is constantly interrupting before I get the food out, reminds me how I don’t seem to be able to absorb things deeply lately and am constantly just batting at the next thing that figuratively jumps into my lap. Social media is a tough one to keep at bay. Hiding my apps all over my phone so I have to hunt for them is a good deterrent. Still, I find myself jumping from one thing to the next without finishing things in the real world, too. I’m not sure if it fits the bill of the New York Times definition of languishing but it sounds about right. I’m doing pretty well, but I noticed a whole month had gone by since I published a cartoon last week, and that length of time was a bit surprising. I’ve also been painting, so it’s partially that, but it was also just a tough month.
What a week for American history. For the first time in my lifetime I have seen a white police officer be charged and convicted of the murder of a Black person. In my EDI group at work we have been working on educating ourselves and each other about the incredible disparity between how white folks and BIPOC people are treated systemically in this country. It is not about pointing fingers at people, it is much more about examining the world we live in, the system that is already in place, and our place in it and how we can change it for the better. I just watched 13th on Netflix (full feature also available free on YouTube) about the history of incarceration of Black people and my breath has been sucked out of my body. I feel paralyzed realizing just how far back and how deep this problem goes. I feel guilty about not knowing (or probably not wanting to know) for this long. But I also know feeling guilty does nothing. I need to act. So, I post information a lot on social media (some of you subscribers may have noticed), and I believe this helps normalize our activism in social media. I want my white friends to not feel afraid of “rocking the boat” or putting themselves out there. The fact is, we white folks have a lot of privilege when it comes to what we decide to see or not see, and it really is up to us to make big changes. Systemic racism is something that may not affect most white folks negatively or noticeably on the day to day, but it is a real threat to everyone, and a crucially debilitating problem for Black communities, other communities of color, migrant communities, low-income communities, and disabled communities. Everyone’s liberties are at stake, I can’t emphasize this enough, and when our society decides to harm the those with the least power, we are creating a dystopia for all of us. I quote this from the documentary 13th - “The prison system eats Black and Latino people for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.” I also learned about ALEC - the organization of corporations and politicians working together to re-write our laws. They were the creators of the Stand Your Ground law, for example, which was what allowed a man to get away with killing 17 year-old Trayvon Martin for just walking home one night.
I also write for Postcards to Voters, donate to my local food bank, act on alerts to write to my senators and representatives, and I am donating to Black Lives Matter and have been for some time, but still, I have so much to learn. Every time I open another book it knocks me out. Join me in this journey to help make things better. We need each other.
M'Links🔗
The first time information was posted on the death of George Floyd, May 26, 2020. Read this statement knowing what we know now.
It would be great if everyone could listen to the history of policing in the United States. This podcast “Throughline” from NPR lays out and proves exactly how policing began as slave patrols and continues today as a tool to control Black people. https://www.npr.org/2020/06/03/869046127/american-police
The guest speaker on this episode of Throughline is Khalil Gibran Muhammed, author of The Condemnation of Blackness - I’ve just started reading the book.
Light and Fluttery 🦋
“If you get tired - learn to rest, not to quit.” - Banksy
Hold on. ❤
My brain seems to languish as of late also but then I read Brentford and the great articles within and voila I feel better and have new ideas in my head. Sometimes the hum drum of everyday life needs interruptions and you provide that for me. Keep up the good work Jenny!
Great newsletter! So many excellent links. I'm definitely languishing. One more vaccination to go (next week), and the two week wait for full vaccination. I hope you and yours are close too!
I've missed several of the EDI groups lately, but have been keeping up with the topics. I'm glad our organization has prioritized this for staff, so we can all work towards making things better.