Moral Monday National Day of Fasting and Focus

Two weeks after the murder of George Floyd, a Moral Monday National Day of Fasting and Focus will culminate at 5pm EST when people are asked to stop where we are for 8 minutes and 46 seconds to be silent for the amount of time George Floyd had a knee on his neck. 

Additional Moral Monday activities include a litany and a message of support from Bishop William Barber,
co-chair of the Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival. Rev Barber also will lead a digital justice gathering and online moral march Saturday, June 20th and Sunday, June 21st. 

As I focus on the purpose of Moral Monday, I think about family and friends who may be more comfortable saying All Lives Matter rather than Black Lives Matter. I agree all lives matter. Absolutely. I also believe we can acknowledge and discuss racism without negating the value of white lives, or blue lives, or Native American lives or any other lives.

  

We can value all lives while showing empathy toward specific groups and individuals. Valuing human life is not a zero sum game, or a contest to determine which group is better than or more oppressed than another. True humanity is about valuing each and every life, ALL lives. 

Some people may doubt racism continues to be a persistent problem in America. Some people may think individuals are 100% responsible for their lot in life, that society bears little or no responsibility. If those beliefs ring true to you, I humbly ask you to please open your heart and mind to reconsider. 

America was founded by white men. As local, state and federal governments were formed, laws were written by wealthy white men primarily for the benefit of those same wealthy white men. Neither women nor people of color were allowed to own property or vote in the early years of our democracy. Yet the American economy flourished due to hard work and an abundance of natural resources, including slave labor. 

Black Africans were brought to this country against their will. Generations of black men, women and children were bought and sold as property for more than 200 years. Slavery was legally abolished in 1865 though black men waited until 1870 for the passage of the 15th amendment which gave citizens the right to vote without regard to race, color or prior history of slavery. Women eventually won the vote in 1920.

After the Civil War, reconstruction attempted to redress the inequities of slavery through interracial democracy. Former slaves were finally able to integrate into mainstream society as business owners and property owners, doctors, lawyers, bankers, professors, farmers and paid laborers in most communities. However, some white citizens felt threatened by the growing success of their black and brown neighbors so they organized white supremacist groups like the Ku Klux Klan to oppress and torment black people. Poll taxes were enacted to prevent poor people and people of color from voting. Jim Crow laws and redlining separated blacks from whites in schools, housing, jobs, and public gathering places. The civil rights movement of the 1960s attempted to correct these societal ills though systemic racism remains ingrained in American institutions. Conscious and subconscious racial biases and prejudices persist. 

 Institutional systems were built by wealthy white men to keep themselves in power. 

Attorney General William Barr remarked a few weeks ago that history is written by the winners. African American history and Black history may not be as well known as the stories written by and about white historical figures though this is changing. We are witnessing history in the making each day. 

As we explore history from a variety of perspectives, and as we learn more about the day to day experiences of black people right now in 2020, it’s ok for us to change our minds. It’s ok to process new information and form new opinions. It’s ok to let go of old beliefs that no longer hold true. It’s ok.  

It's ok to change  your mind about racism. And it’s ok to say Black Lives Matter.

Black Lives Matter AND All Lives Matter

In the spirit of sharing softer news and/or silly vibes:

• Celebrities impersonate other celebrities on the Graham Norton Show.
• Colin Jost and Michael Che from SNL took a lie detector test.
• Seth Meyers remarks at the 2011 White House Correspondents' Dinner.

Daily pandemic update:  

China rejected accusations it concealed COVID-19 information. Beijing declared its actions to contain the pandemic have been "rigorous" and "effective" and says if it is able to develop a vaccine, it will make it available to the world. Aljazeera.com timeline

8 June 2020	Cases		Deaths		Recovered
18:30 GMT*	Yesterday	Today	Yesterday	Today	Yesterday	Today
World	7,013,947	7,150,359	402,756	407,584	3,431,527	3,493,138
US	1,990,046	2,015,510	112,113	112,738	752,049	765,622
NY	397,810	399,458	30,401	30,502	84,408	84,834
CT	43,818	43,968	4,055	4,071	7,689	7,689
NC	34,717	36,484	1,028	1,041	18,860	18,860

A moment of silence for those we’ve lost to coronavirus, including the first 100 and the first 100,000 in the US.

As of today 13% of closed cases in the US resulted in death; 87% recovered.

Globally 10% of closed cases resulted in death worldwide; 90% recovered.

Currently 2% of all active cases are considered serious or critical.

*Documenting time of day because real time data updates continuously.
Tracking specific states:  NY is US epicenter. Son Reid lives in CT. I live in NC. 
Worldometers     Coronainusa     Starsexpress2020     https://ncov2019.live/

In the news: 

• Australian protestors called for justice for indigenous Aboriginals who died at the hands of police.
• Barack and Michelle Obama shared uplifting virtual commencement speeches. 
• Belgian protestors climbed onto statue of colonial King Léopold II in Brussels chanting “murderer” while waving flag of Democratic Republic of Congo where his atrocities took place.
• Biden campaign announced support for policing reforms but not defunding police.
• British protestors toppled statue of slave trader, prompting fresh look at UK history of slavery.
• Brazilians protested in support of Black Lives Matter and against President Jair Bolsonaro. 
• CA demonstrators stopped agitator from disrupting peaceful protest with fireworks.
• Colin Powell, former secretary of state and chair of joint chiefs, condemned Trump and announced he will vote for Biden.
• Greensboro NC demonstrators, with assistance from police, shut down I-40 again Sunday evening. Protests continued around the world over the weekend.
• John Oliver discussed how the histories of policing and white supremacy are intertwined.
• Justice in Policing Act proposed by democrats aims to reform law enforcement without defunding or disbanding police departments. Legislation also has been introduced to require all federal officers conducting crowd control to identify who they are and which agency they represent.
• Ken Cuccinelli, acting deputy secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, claimed systemic racism is not an issue in US law enforcement agencies. Attorney General Bill Barr and acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf also dismissed the idea that racism is a systemic problem.
• Mike Mullen, retired admiral and former chair of joint chiefs, condemned Trump on Fox News.
• Minneapolis MN city council voted to disband police department despite opposition from mayor. Camden NJ disbanded police force in 2013 to get around police union, enabling county to rebuild police department with stricter rules and more officers at lower pay. Transformation reduced excessive force and homicides. Evidence based policing reforms are key to success.
• Mitt Romney marched with protestors and said Black Lives Matter while wearing a mask.
• NASCAR legends Bubba Wallace and Jeff Gordon demonstrated support for racial justice.
• New Zealand was the first country to report coronavirus had been eradicated; no current cases.
• NYC woman told people to vote instead of looting and rioting.
• Storm surge flooded coastal Mississippi as tropical storm Cristobal made landfall.
• UNC Wilmington professor Mike Adams is under fire for long history of racist and sexist remarks; thousands have signed petitions calling for him to be removed.
• Utah Marine veteran protested alone with 'I can't breathe' covering his mouth.

Following Kenny Beck’s lead to share a few signs of hope:

• Buffalo NY teen spent 10 hours cleaning up after protest; rewarded with car and college scholarship.
• Iowa artist used silos to project images of Malcom X, Rosa Parks and George Floyd 80 feet tall.
• Sacramento CA business owner declared, "Black lives matter. They matter to us. They're more important than any storefront, any shop." 

In my personal life…

Minerva and her bunny pal had a close encounter Sunday morning. During her first walk of the day she squatted near Greg’s car to pee. While she was on my right side, I noticed a nearby bunny to my left. Minerva was facing the opposite direction with her nose in the air sniffing the wind. After she finished her urgent task I gently tugged at her leash in an attempt to focus her attention toward the bunny. As soon as she saw it, her body transformed. She stood erect and alert with her ears and tail up. Minerva and the bunny stared at each other for a second or two before she lunged forward. She didn’t bark or bay though. As the bunny hopped away, Minerva wagged her tail and relaxed. Then she looked back toward me with an expression on her face as if to say, “You saw it, too, right? I didn’t imagine that bunny. It was really there, wasn’t it, mom?”

Mid morning before the summer heat became unbearable, Greg sprayed herbicide on a few stubborn weeds. The almanac indicated Monday would be a better day for eradicating weeds than Sunday but he was determined to take care of business ASAP before the mood passed. He plans to mow the lawn Monday. Rain is forecast Tuesday and Wednesday with a 50/50 chance Thursday.

As the afternoon heat subsided yesterday I spent a couple shaded hours in the hammock reading Wilmington's Lie: The Murderous Coup Of 1898 And The Rise Of White Supremacy By David Zucchino. It’s a fascinating yet tragic story of post-reconstruction and the rise of white supremacy. Wilmington was the largest city in NC at the time with a thriving black middle class, a large black electorate and a local government that included black aldermen, police officers and magistrates. Unfortunately that ended in 1898 with a bloody campaign of violence and intimidation by white supremacists.

I’m currently alternating between reading Wilmington's Lie and listening to the audio book How to be an Antiracist. I wanted to listen to the audio book in the hammock but couldn’t get the Audible app to work on my cell phone so I decided to read a free library book via Libby on Kindle instead. The Wilmington book had been on my Libby wait list since March so I’m grateful an electronic copy finally became available.

We thought Minerva might have had a seizure or stroke Sunday night. When Greg saw her in distress he calmly sat down on the floor next to her to comfort her. It took him a minute to notice one of her glamour length nails had gotten caught in her collar while she was trying to scratch an itch. He carefully unhooked her and she was fine afterward; no worries. Fortunately she has an appointment at the Pfafftown Pet Pawlor scheduled Tuesday afternoon.

Reid, Lauren, Reid’s brother Ben, Lauren’s brother Matt and friends participated in peaceful demonstrations in Meriden, CT over the weekend. I watched online and tweeted support as peaceful protests were held again in Winston Salem and Greensboro NC.

Today sister-friend Tonya and her husband Peter celebrate their wedding anniversary in Raleigh NC!

 

For brunch yesterday Greg and I split another everything bagel topped with cream cheese and smoked salmon. Later we ate leftover cherry crumble with vanilla ice cream as an afternoon snack. For dinner we again ate salami and havarti on crackers with the last of the leftover potato salad. We’ve been repeating meals lately so we’ll likely rotate some different foods to mix it up a bit this week. No complaints; all good.  

My daily action for racial justice Monday is to participate in the Moral Monday National Day of Fasting and Focus as I continue listening to the audio book How to be an Antiracist and reading the book Wilmington's Lie.