2020 has altered a LOT of plans, and that's what happened to my birthday plans this year, like everyone else. As it's been an extra difficult year for me and mine (like everyone else), I really wanted to get away and do something special ... but that was not to be. Or was it? A closer, actually do-able plan took shape, as I've been dying to see the statue Dinity: Of Earth and Sky, located in Chamberlain, South Dakota.
I booked a room and put Mom in the car, and we set out to drive hours across the dusty, hot plains to look at a statue at a rest stop on the 90 freeway overlooking the Missouri River ... and it was totally worth it. I actually got a little emotional when we pulled up, as even just the word DIGNITY is so loaded to me right now. I thought it was funny to say "I'm aging with Dignity!", because I really want to (A lady doesn't share her age, but just know that I could legally be President. And probably should be.). But also the Dignity of our Native people, who have been so mistreated in this country, but are still so beautiful and resilient, and yes, DIGNIFIED, that it's very emotional for me. The racial unrest in this country also came to mind, as well as my Mom who has handled losing her leg with such dignity, and she was with me, and had me on this day, and we were together doing fun things in spite of it all ... so yeah, loaded.
The 50 foot tall Native woman created from stainless steel by sculptor, Dale Lamphere, is one of the most stunning works of sculpture I've ever seen.
Three different Native women served as the models for the Plains woman receiving the traditional Star quilt of the area tribes. The blues in the quilt are representing the water and sky that surrounds it. It's something else. I met a lot of people there taking pictures and generally standing around in awe as the sun set into the river. Many of them did not know this work of art was here and were just going to the rest stop where she resides. A few, like myself, were there as their final destination, like the female biker couple who had ridden 500 miles from Iowa just to see her. I understood.
When the sun sets, Dignity lights up and becomes even more beautiful. We visited the Akta Lakota Sioux Museum the next morning, and they told us that they are going to be adding fringe to Dignity's quilt, so they will move in the wind. And now I have to go back.
The museum was awesome, with a ton of information about the Dakota, Lakota, and Sioux tribes of the Plains - as well as an awesome gift shop. It's located on the campus of the St. Joseph Indian School, a free boarding school for Native kids to learn and keep their traditions alive. Super cool.
There is a beautiful medicine wheel outside, where my Mom offered up a prayer to all of the directions. I can't believe I had never been to South Dakota before, and am so happy to be able to check off another state on my list. I will say that not a single person seemed to care about Covid in South Dakota, so that made me a little bit nervous with Mom, but we took every possible precaution and stayed far away from others. No masks, everything was open (even pool and hot tubs!), and I overheard an old dude say "I turn down my hearing aids when anyone brings up Covid." Yeah. So, use your best judgement.
I was tempted to keep on going to the Black Hills and The Badlands, but we only brought enough meds for the one night, so back we had to head. I think I'll wait to hit those more touristy spots until all of this mess dies down, but now I know that I'm really into it. I didn't get a chance to respond to any birthday messages or anything with all of the driving, so please don't feel bad if I haven't called you yet - I will!
We headed back to Minneapolis in 100 degree heat, but we had the air on in the car so it was fully pleasant as we watched all of the gorgeous scenery fly past (80 is the legal speed in SD!). I had heard about a new mural in Mankato, Minnesota that covered huge silos, so that's where we headed next on the way home.
WOW. The work by Guido van Helten is about the same height as Dignity (maybe taller), and depicts Native kids in what looks like a black and white photo but is in fact a painting. I had to climb down across some railroad tracks (and wait for a massive cargo train to go by) to see all of its angles, and it really is something else, there for everyone to see as they fly down Highway 169.
Birthday 2020 definitely had a Native theme, and I'm so happy that at least this part of the world shows them the absolute reverence (and apologies!) they deserve. This is truly THEIR America, and it's high time we all start acting like it. Thanks.
Yesterday was also the picture wrap of our documentary film, 90291: VENICE UNZIPPED!! The crew had some pick-up shots to get yesterday, and when they were done they FaceTimed me and I talked to and thanked everyone for all of their passion and hard work from the side of the road in the 100 degree South Dakota sun ... and was once again emotional. We could never have imagined how much things would change in the world during the production of this film ... and make our topics of income inequality, gentrification, homelessness, and art in our BELOVED Venice even MORE timely.
Everyone kept their heads down and continued to do the work, and now we will have a beautiful, important film to share with the world, and maybe help to make it a little better. I'm SO proud of the crew, and of this film, and of the wonderful hearts, minds, and souls that made it all happen. I'm bursting with love and just can't wait for it to be out in the world!
So, Birthday 2020 is behind me and now I can kick off a new, cool year ... PHEW! Made it through another one! Gratefully, for sure. Please put beautiful Dignity on your list of must-sees, because it's just stunning (and I think a lot of people just fly by the hill if they don't need the rest stop, because the Missouri River lying ahead is so majestic you might now even notice the sculpture up above unless you know about it)!
THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO CARED AND MADE ME FEEL SPECIAL AND LOVED! I love you. I thank you. I hope I can actually party with you soon! I can't wait. Love, your Ceej
There was a violin vigil for Elijah McClain last Saturday at the Minnesota State Capitol, and it was beautiful. McClain is the young man who was murdered by Aurora, Colorado police in one of the very most disturbing police murders ever committed. Easily one of the most kind and gentle souls ever to live on this planet, McClain spent his free time playing his violin for shelter kittens. His last words to the police and EMTs that were busy murdering him were absolutely crushing ...
"I can’t breathe. I have my ID right here... My name is Elijah McClain.
That’s my house. I was just going home. I’m an introvert. I’m just
different. That’s all. I’m so sorry. I have no gun. I don’t do that
stuff. I don’t do any fighting. Why are you attacking me? I don’t even
kill flies. I don’t eat meat. But I don’t judge people, I don’t judge
people who do eat meat. Forgive me. All I was trying to do was become
better... I will do it... I will do anything. Sacrifice my identity,
I’ll do it. I'll do it. You all are phenomenal. You are beautiful and I
love you. Try to forgive me. I’m a mood Gemini. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.
Ow, that really hurt. You are all very strong. Teamwork makes the dream
work."
Now, if you aren't destroyed by that, you don't have a soul or a heart yourself. So, there was no question that I HAD to be there for McClain last Saturday, since no one was at the time of his murder. The event had been re-scheduled from the previous Sunday due to weather, and it looked like rain on this day too, but there were still hundreds that showed up to pay their respects to a life taken far too soon.
I was startled to see a big crowd with no masks and giant U.S. flags yelling about whatever, and soon figured out that it was a group of MAGA fools there to protest about wearing masks. UGH. They're all so idiotic and heartless that I don't even want to mention it ... but they were there, trying to disrupt a gathering in honor of someone who was murdered for absolutely nothing by the people meant to protect and serve us. But these mouth-breathers thought they'd mar the proceedings by exposing themselves to the Corona virus. So free of them. It's sad when the sight of our country's flag now makes me sick to my stomach, because usually these days it's being held by someone who actually wants to destroy our country with their ignorance. I walked right through the middle of these fools with my BLACK LIVES MATTER shirt and my mask in full effect. No one said a word to me directly - but I almost wish they had.
I thought I was late to the proceedings, but there was just a big crowd (very socially distanced and masked, it's important to note - good hearts also seem to have smart minds) kind of sitting around waiting. Booths were set up to buy merch, register to vote, recall Mike Freeman (YES!), and sign a big banner to send to the family of Elijah McClain so they may know that people all over the world care about their Elijah very much.
There were a few speakers, from WeareoneMN.Com (the organizers), and we got to hear from Courteney Ross, the fiancée of George Floyd. What she said really stuck with me, as she said she'd been all fired up to go confront the Trump people across the street, and really get into it with them. Then she realized that we get nowhere with hostility (as they show us every day), and that if she were to go over there and find common ground, that would be the way to heal and go forward for us all. How full of grace to feel like that when the love of your life has been murdered by police, there has been worldwide outrage, and these people still come and try and add to her pain. I need to be more like her - and told her so afterward.
There were over 50 violinists and cellists there, and as rain started to sprinkle down, they gathered in front of the steps of the Capitol to play three selections for Elijah McClain. They began with "Hallelujah", and though I've heard it enough for many lifetimes, it was heartbreaking and gorgeous as these players did it for Elijah. Sniffles could be heard all across the lawn, as we were all thinking about this gentle young man, and how he didn't deserve to die, and MUST get the justice he deserves. In fact, just yesterday there was another incident in Aurora, CO, where their AWFUL police forced a Black family - including a little girl in a pink crown! - to lie on the hot pavement while they bungled about figuring out they had pulled over the wrong vehicle - an SUV vs. a motorcycle at that! This murdering department can obviously not be reformed, and MUST be dismantled - as well as have all of those brutes locked up FOR GOOD. My blood just boils thinking about it.
Back to the calming music for Elijah ... the musicians next gave us "Stand By Me", and then finished with "Somewhere Over The Rainbow", and it seemed at that moment that a rainbow would actually be likely, but not this time. It was incredibly touching, though brief, and I'm very glad I was there to show my support. I made a new friend at the Recall Freeman booth, a lovely woman who was wearing a shirt that said, "I can't keep calm, I have a Black son". Now, if that doesn't hit home with people, I don't know what will. The big thing missing for a LOT of people who want to hear only themselves talk is EMPATHY. People need to step out of their own biased brains for a moment and just think about what it would be like it this was YOUR son. If it was YOUR family. Once people can gain even a tiny bit of empathy for someone other than themselves, you start to have a working society for everyone, you get the justice that is deserved, and you fulfill the original intent of this country, which really was LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL - not just you.
When the music was over, there was a long line to sign the banner for the McClain family, and a lot of smaller groups breaking apart to talk, plan, organize, and hope - for a better future for us ALL.
Please PLEASE sign the petition that demands justice for this dear, sweet soul. PLEASE SIGN TODAY!
Thank you, thank you, thank you ... and I hope you know how much people care about you, dear Elijah.
Terry Willis completed his one thousand mile walk from his hometown of Huntsville, Alabama to the site of George Floyd's murder by police at 38th and Chicago in Minneapolis yesterday afternoon, and was met by throngs of supporters who had followed him along his arduous journey.
After some delays due to weather and body recovery, Willis joined a waiting group at the Mall of America in Bloomington. Marchers held signs and wore t-shirts (and almost every respectful citizen was wearing a mask!) in support and cheered Willis on for the last seven miles of his trek to gain awareness for change, justice, and equality.
As there had been threats to Willis along the way, the organizers never gave out his exact location, so it was a bit of sleuthing to find out where they would exactly be to join the march if you hadn't been at MOA on time (like me). I was driving back from getting our morning coffee when I saw people sitting on the curbs of 12th Avenue in Richfield, and a police presence at my old middle school on 70th and 12th.
I raced home to get my brother and we raced back just in time to join Willis for his march through Richfield. I was so proud to be standing up for social justice and systemic change in my hometown, marching down 12th and up 66th to Portland, with supportive honks from backed up cars and shouts of solidarity from the people lining the streets. There's an old spirit chant that went "We're from Richfield, couldn't be prouder, if you can't hear us, we'll yell a little louder!" - and that's what it felt like marching alongside this inspirational man whose story I'd been following since his walk began on June 2nd in Alabama. (This feeling would go away in the evening - read to the end).
"Say his name!" "GEORGE FLOYD!" and "One Man! TWO FEET!" were a couple of the chants along the way, and the day could not have been more beautiful for a walk for social justice. Willis kept an amazingly fast pace going, for a man who had been walking across the entire country. Also impressive was the way he was so concerned about everyone else. He darted around in the crowd, asking if people had water, giving hugs to people that got emotional in his embrace, as they could feel the gravity of what he had endeavored to do, and now he was real and in their arms. Pretty powerful stuff.
When the group turned toward Minneapolis, Paul and I raced back to our car, went home and grabbed our Mom, and took her to do a drive-by farewell to the Pastor of her church, Nokomis Heights Lutheran, who was having a last day picnic there at 53rd and 10th. We drove by and waved our good wishes, and then saw that the Willis march was going by two blocks away at Chicago Avenue!
We cheered them on for a couple of blocks, (and were a little surprised to see a guy open-carrying a machine gun, but then there had been credible threats, so ... sigh. This world.) then drove to 38th and Chicago to the George Floyd Memorial where Willis was to finish his long journey.
The intersection was packed with people, so we tried to stay on the outskirts because of Mom and the pandemic, and people were very respectful about giving she and her wheelchair the space she needed. The grills were cranked up with long lines for the free fare, and the usual angels were there passing out bottles of water on this hot day. The flowers had been refreshed after the storm the night before, and it was once again a beautiful scene of respect and community coming together as one in the name of equality and justice. That's just honestly what it feels like every time you're there, and I hope all Twin Cities residents have been by now. It's something else.
It didn't take long until we saw the glimmer and heard the din in the distance of the Willis march approaching. More and more people poured into the streets as the march passed into the intersection, and more than a few tears were shed when Willis finally approached the very spot where George Floyd had been so ruthlessly killed by monsters meant to protect us. Out of breath somewhat himself, the moment held a whole lot of weight when Willis was now at the destination that had been his focus. Cheers erupted, and then went silent as a trumpeter climbed up above everyone and played "Lift Every Voice And Sing", and another emotional memory was made.
Families stood together, friends stood side by side, mothers pushed their children in strollers, we pushed our Mom in her wheelchair, and everyone there knelt together as one with fists raised in silence as Terry Willis knelt as long as he could after such a long and hard physical feat. More cheers filled the blue skies then, as Willis took the mic to address the crowd ...
Speaking to how he was just a regular guy, not a celebrity (though he was certainly treated like one, deservedly), and he just saw something terrible that he was compelled to do something about, so he set out as one man, two feet and walked for change. Any one of us could do the same, and any one of us can do SOMETHING in our own lives to effect change. My own nearly 80 year old (birthday next week!) Mom is right now in the living room reading "How To Be An Anti-Racist" - THAT is something to effect change, because then she'll talk about it with her 80+ year old posse, and they begin to think differently, and that HELPS.
Once Willis thanked the crowd, he was eager to get home to his own family and his own bed, and the intersection at 38th and Chicago turned once again into the street party that it has been on most days since George Floyd lost his life there. We now know that this time WILL be different, and that systemic change is ACTUALLY in the works. You can feel it.
My family left to get Mom home as we are a bit leery about having her out in the mix at this stage of nobody knowing what's up with this pandemic, but we were all so happy to have been there together to see this historic and triumphant feat completed by Mr. Willis, and once again by surrounded by so much good will and positivity for a better world. We were buzzing about it all day after, and I thought I'd share the Richfield part on the "I Grew Up In Richfield" Facebook page so people could see how cool it had been in our hometown that day. I was certainly not prepared for the bigotry and vitriol that followed, and I'm still reeling from it. "That's BS!" "George Floyd was a thief!" "This kind of thing doesn't belong on this page!" were some of the awful comments in reaction to a short video of their community members marching along with a man who had just completed a huge, triumphant personal victory that was also global news. And now their backwards behavior will now also be a part of this global story. Willis had people cheering him on via his Facebook and Instagram feeds from around the world ... but Richfield, Minnesota residents didn't want to hear about it on their community page. UNREAL. I'm crushed. I've been back here taking care of my Mom for a year now, and I know I've been living in the Venice, California bubble for a long time, but I never thought there would be such racism in my now very diverse hometown. THEN I see that my post had been taken down, due to so many complaints about a Black man marching through Richfield for social justice. I'm disgusted, and of course, will no longer have my name associated with that intolerant page. The Administrator woman didn't bother to send me a message, but she sent Paul one for his post that said it was for people who grew up in Richfield, not politics. Well, guess what, lady? People are STILL growing up in Richfield, and it's sad that the one they're growing up in is like this, especially when old, white Spartans are hardly in the majority in town anymore.
I don't want to end on a negative note to what was such a positive and beautiful day, so I'll just say to every complainer on the Richfield page - I hope you can manage to GROW, because your way of thinking is past its expiration date. To Terry Willis and all of his supporters - WOW! POWERFUL! What a feat! CONGRATULATIONS! LOVE! SOLIDARITY! UNITY! We WILL make the change this country so clearly, so desperately needs. We have to.
ONE LOVE, EVERYBODY! Even you, old, white Spartans. May you join us in 2020 someday.
Today we all celebrate Juneteenth, the end of slavery in the United States! Well, not the real end, because it took two and a half years for the news to get to the entire country finally on June 19, 1865. And also not the real end, because Black Lives in America often still feel enslaved because of the awful treatment they continue to be subjected to - and that will no longer be tolerated in this nation.
In the weeks since the murder of George Floyd at the hands of brutal Minneapolis Police Officers (don't you wish the news would call that like it is? Instead of "when George Floyd died in police custody", or however else they try to lighten it up with), there have been actions in support of Black Lives every day, and they will continue until the police brutality stops (which they just can't seem to bring themselves to do - STILL), and there is justice and equality for ALL citizens. They just will. And should.
In addition to the marching and protesting that we simply can't let up on, it has also been a time for reflection and learning. There are so many resources available on how to be an Anti-Racist, that there really is no excuse not to.
There are several great films that I have watched in the last couple of weeks that really give insight as to what our Black brothers and sisters have been - and ARE - dealing with forever, and as to what absolutely must change. Start with 13th on Netflix.
After that MUST watch, watch Blindspotting. A harrowing story of what it feels like to be a Black man just going about the business of his own life, and being terrified about being killed by Police every single day. It's so tense, and I felt sick to my stomach that my friends have had to feel like this their entire lives. We all have to work together to bring them the relief that they are FREE and can live like they are.
I watched Seberg on Amazon last night, about the actress Jean Seberg, who became a star of the French New Wave, but was a country girl from Iowa who strongly supported The Black Panthers - and had her life completely ruined as punishment by our garbage government for doing so. I really identified with her, because I'm very outspoken about my feelings about the overt racism in this country - and just got out of Twitter Jail for it (as Trump is allowed to spew his hate and disinformation freely - disgusting). That won't deter me - nothing will. And Jean was the same way. Please give it a watch as you look for inspiration on how to be an ally.
Spike Lee's new joint Da 5 Bloods on Netflix isn't nearly a perfect film, but it does shed some light on what it was like to be a Black soldier in Vietnam, and how the U.S. Armed Forces put them on the front lines to die first, as they were considered expendable. Man, we sure have a lot of work to do to make up to our Black and Brown citizens for the horrors this country has put them through, even as they have fought to protect it. Shameful, and a permanent scar on our nation's face.
I'm halfway through reading Washington Black by Esi Edugyan, a beautifully written story about a young slave boy and the adventures of his life. Slavery is so disgusting, and when you read about the daily horrors inflicted on these people, you wonder how in the world they could ever even begin to forgive this country ... so the very least we can do - THE VERY LEAST - is to put an end to them being murdered by Police in our modern world. Like, it's just beyond shocking to me that it STILL happens - but then it isn't either.
We've clearly got so much work cut out for us, as reading any comment section on any post about this topic clearly shows. Some people - usually with a MAGA type profile picture - are so backwards thinking and so uneducated about life in 2020 that you almost want to give up on them - but we can't. We need them to STOP IT TOO. The daily videos of privileged white people still trying to oppress Black lives are so sad and embarrassing ... but I have to believe they're still acting out because they know their days are numbered and their pathetic little outbursts are the last gasps of a dying breed. They have to be.
And we ALL have to be advocates. Gone are the days when someone would say something on the edge of being racist and everyone just kind of moves on. That shit needs to be called out WHEN it happens, and made clear that YOU won't put up with it. Consider this fair warning that if anything like that is uttered in my presence, you will be made to feel like the gross dumbass you are. And you won't soon forget it. If that means I get less invites from people that like to be racist, cool with me. Bye.
I'm going to celebrate every Juneteenth with music by Black artists, viewing entertainment by Black artists, cooking from Black restaurants, and supporting all Black businesses. Today I went to the Calhoun Square (Bde Maka Ska Square?) in Uptown Minneapolis to see all of the murals that have gone up there since the murder of George Floyd by brutal Minneapolis Police Officers (maybe if we say it enough it will sink in). They are wonderful - and it would be great if they could be permanent.
In the three and a half weeks since George Floyd's murder at the hands of the murdering MPD, I have felt a unity in this city - and in this WORLD - that I've never felt before. Sane and compassionate people of all races and styles have all come together to insist that Justice is served for all Black Lives, and to insist that the days of ALL being treated EQUALLY is HERE. It's HERE. We're living it in real time, and it's something spectacular to behold.
We must not let up. We must not give in. We must stay united. And we must live with LOVE - for ALL. C'mon, Everybody! Once things are great for everyone, they really WILL be great. But not until then. To KNOW Justice - is to KNOW Peace.
Please, as a way to celebrate and honor Black Lives, PLEASE remember to LOVE, not HATE (as my friend's daughter, Lucy, painted here!) Just start there. With empathy.
There is so much to process, I needed a few days to mull it all over before I went went off on a rant for the ages. People are real touchy, myself included. The world has changed since the Memorial Day murder of George Floyd by police in Minneapolis, and we can never go back to how it was. After so much grief and upheaval, it really does seem like the future will now be brighter - no matter what your race is. It HAS to be.
The last couple of weeks have been SO heavy, yet also so incredibly beautiful. The moments of true humanity and grace will stay with me forever, and give me the encouragement to hope against all hopes that this time - THIS TIME - really will be different, and that our country's future will truly be better and equal for us ALL. It HAS to be.
Pimento Jamaican Kitchen has been a real community leader through all of the uprising after the murder of George Floyd on Memorial Day. They have fed people, they have organized the donation drives ... they are honestly Nobel Prize-worthy. They are also fun. They hosted a "Summit" on Saturday at their location on Nicollet Avenue, as a day of peace and healing for everyone who has been so super maxed out stressed.
Art, Mural making, kid activities, Jamaican food, live reggae ... it was all the stuff I love on a regular day, but this time it was for the cause. It was for JUSTICE and PEACE. Because it HAS to be.
My dear friend and fellow activist, Rebecca, met me at Pimento, and we got to meet Tomme Beevas, the owner and ringleader of all of the activities happening in and around Pimento. What a cool dude, and what a good heart. The kind of heart we now all need to strive for in order to truly implement change. Because we HAVE to.
Nicollet Avenue was packed all day, with people walking the sidewalks and looking at all of the new mural art that has popped up since that day the world began to change in Minneapolis - because it HAD to. The soundtrack of the day was heavy on Bob Marley, which was totally fine with me.
A big, crazy thunderstorm moved in on Saturday night, so our outdoor revelry was cut short, but Sunday dawned very gorgeous, and very hot. There was a community meeting planned for Powderhorn Park in the afternoon, so I headed that way to see what the City Council was going to say. I hoped that there would be a call for real and systemic change, and boy, was I not disappointed! The beautiful park was full of concerned citizens of Minneapolis, all there because we need to stand together now to implement the ideas on all of the signs we've been reading at the marches the last couple of weeks.
*Speaking of marches - they are working. There has already been so many cases of people demanding accountability from the police, it's actually staggering. Minneapolis Schools and Parks have cut ties with the MPD. So has First Avenue and the Minneapolis Institute of Art. All four murderers of George Floyd have now been arrested. Believe me, NONE of this would ever have happened without the video taken of the murder. It would have just been yet another murder of a black man swept under the disgusting police department rug. But not anymore.
Keep filming everything messed up that you see, because that is really now the first line of defense. And stick up for people yourself! I'd really like to think that George Floyd would not have been dead if I had been there. I can't imagine not bum-rushing that sicko cop the minute I heard "I can't breathe!" I just can't. We HAVE to put ourselves out there to protect our fellow citizens of all colors if there is ever to be peace for everyone. Seriously. I've already had an incident at Augsburg Park in Richfield, with yet another gross, entitled white woman telling a Somalian woman she didn't belong in the park with her "Disgusting, yucky children." My heart was crushed that someone could behave like that, especially NOW. Racists are getting terrified that their time is up, and there will be more gross examples as they struggle to try to be superior - as usually their being white is about all they have going for them - at least in this case. We all simply must be better.
OK - back to Powderhorn Park. Speakers spoke, poems were read, and then the City Council President, Lisa Bender, got up there and said she was no longer a "reformist", and didn't believe that the MPD could be reformed. She and a veto-proof group of 9 council members straight up told the crowd that they were going to dismantle the Minneapolis Police Department! And look into how we can go forward with "Community Led Public Safety (CLAPS vs COPS?!). The crowd went wild, as it was exactly what we wanted to hear. This is obviously early stages of figuring it all out, but THAT is progress - in just two weeks.
Of course the arguments online began immediately, with an uproar (usually from suburban whites) about how in the world can there be a world without police? Well, to that I would reply, when was it last safe WITH police? Breonna Taylor was killed in her OWN HOME by police - they got the wrong house, shrug. Justine Damond (white woman) called the police to help someone else, and ended up being shot and killed by the police, in a case that I still can't believe. If you live in Venice, California - they just never come, and if they do, the person causing the trouble is usually back out on the streets the same day. I've had my own run-ins with the police as a blonde, blue-eyed woman, enough that I don't even think to call them. If I had to call 911, I would ask them to send EMTs (Heroes), never the police. And judging from all of the mass gatherings I've been involved in the last couple of weeks, the PEOPLE are way better at policing themselves. The only trouble I saw was both started and escalated by the police. Period.
The brutality we're seeing coming out of cities around the country has been sickening. Even on camera now, the police just don't care. I've seen maybe two good cop stories among the thousands of brutal ones. We will be better off without them, trust me. I know this is super controversial right now, but it's new. And it's been done before, with far better results for Camden, NJ. Also, for those arguing about defunding the police - Okaaaaaay ... but you were fine with the government defunding of schools, national parks, Medicare, food safety, the postal service, the sciences, and the arts, just to name a few? Please educate yourselves before you begin your panicked rants, because ... C'mon. You and WE can all be better - and scrapping the police department as it has been is a wonderful start. I can't wait.
After that large victory of a speech at Powderhorn, I headed back over to 38th and Chicago to see how even bigger the George Floyd Memorial has become. I mean, WOW. An entire block of Chicago is now painted with the names of the many, many people who have drawn their last breaths in the hands of police officers. Flowers had been laid on every name, and it was both beautiful and soul-crushing to see so many lives lost at the hands of those intended to protect and serve us. They have failed miserably at that basic tenet of their jobs, and are not even close to being worthy of the keepers of peace intention either. It's terribly sad what that line of work has become, and I'm really sad for the men and women that got into it to try to be "the good ones", because it's so systemic that they end up being bad too, just by being complicit and not preventing their colleagues from their dastardly deeds. The saying is "One rotten apple spoils the whole bunch" - meaning they're all spoiled by proximity, not that there are good ones exempt. (Please stop using that line of defense - you sound dumb. And why are you defending murder and brutality anyway? That would be a good self-reflection moment for many).
The street fair atmosphere continues, as so many people are coming to pay their respects and to see this place that has been plastered all over the news. The feeling of unity that lives there now between everyone there is beautiful and humbling - as the tangible feeling of solidarity is the biggest takeaway. It's now finally starting to feel like people are starting to really get that we are ALL IN THIS TOGETHER. That's always been a nice platitude, but when white people start realizing that black people being murdered by the police makes us ALL less safe - then change can really occur. And it MUST. We absolutely cannot let this feeling die among all the other deaths.
A block or so away from the Memorial is a big park field, now filled with cardboard gravestones of people who were also all murdered by the police. There are so many that it feels like a gut punch, and the people walking among the names were very quiet and reverent as they did so. The sad thing is that the artists add to it every day - because they can. They won't run out of names. And that is why we march.
A big cardboard fist had been erected in the middle of the circle of flower at the 38th and Chicago intersection. A fierce looking Black woman got up to have her picture taken, and raised her fist in the international symbol of fighting the power. I raised my fist back to her and we looked directly at each other when I took her photo. That is what it's going to take - people of other races looking out for each other - because we HAVE TO. I believe the majority of us have decided that enough has been WAY more than enough, and will now do what it takes to implement the real change this country so desperately needs. For the sad few who still don't get it and still argue online about how "All Lives Matter" (we know, we know -that's not the point right now), and how "It's just a few bad apples in the police" and care about the "rioting" (peaceful protesting) and having their commuter route messed up for an afternoon, I plead with you to educate yourselves, and learn how to be an Anti-Racist. Because when you say all of those above tone-deaf things - your innate racism and privilege really is showing, and it's not a good look.
To those who choose to remain on the sidelines and say nothing - that is a problem too. Now is EXACTLY the time to be speaking up and out, and worrying what your play group moms or whoever will think is not advancing anything - and prolonging everything. Think about the world you want to leave for those kids - and I'll bet it's not one where you have to explain to them why the nice officer murdered someone in broad daylight on t.v. as they shouted for their mother. I'm pretty sure that sucks for you too. I saw this yesterday, and share it with you now because it's so extra right on:
Pandemics are real, whether or not you know someone who is sick.
Racism is real, even if you aren't a racist.
White privilege is real, even if you don't feel it (but you do).
Police brutality is real, even if the cop you know is kind and just.
Your world isn't THE world Everything is not about you.
George Floyd was finally laid to rest yesterday in Houston, Texas, next to that mother he was crying out for (after a four hour funeral that also insisted that this time IS different). I think that's what has stuck with most people - because we've all been scared, and we've all cried out for our mothers - just not with a policeman's knee choking the life out of us.
And we're all witnessing what happens when we decide we're never going to allow that to happen again. As we slowly but surely get on the same page (aside from those sad, disgusting racists that you just have to hope die out soon and ignore and block in the time-being - and many are trolls/bots so keep that in mind before you self-combust with anger at the guy with something MAGA in his profile pic), the time for healing has begun. The time to maybe dare to have the audacity of HOPE, that we will one day be deserving of the name UNITED States. I'm pretty sure we can do it, and we're already seeing what happens when the People have the Power - and there will always be more of us than them. That too is hope.
So, as my favorite piece on Nicollet last Saturday said, LOVE TO ALL WHO FIGHT FOR JUSTICE! And I'd like to think that means love to ALL. The work continues ... and I will see you out there in the brighter, better future. Thank you for doing your part too. We need you. YOU.
I'll leave you with the video my brother Paul just released, using footage from my marching in Minneapolis, and friends marching in Venice. It's rad and so is he.
*I know I'm super left-leaning, and pretty radical to many of my Minnesota friends. I've lived in the Venice bubble of like minds for really long time, and it's weird to hear counter-arguments - or worse, silence - from some here that don't jive at all with my thinking. I don't apologize for my stance on these issues, because I know my heart is in the right place. I would ask anyone who disagrees with anything I have to say to first think about it, and see if you can find some common ground with me before you freak out. I bet you can. And if you can't ... you might want to go back and think some more, because I pretty much only care about justice for all - why wouldn't you?
Posts
