It has been a month since I wrote a newsletter! With the cops murdering George Floyd and the subsequent protests about Black life it hasn’t felt right to talk about my very white (tm) feelings. So I will try not to write about them.
If you are also white, feel free to reach out to me about YOUR white feelings so we can spare anybody else *especially* Black people the continued burden of white feelings.
We are not the center! We have to continue to show up and also we will continue to fail.
Here’s how I’m staying sane:
Donating money! Donate to organizations and individuals, just not to that one Black friend you haven’t talked to in years. My friend and I did a small bake sale where the proceeds are going to the Okra Project and Morris Home.
Running! Sometimes I don’t for a week, last week I went for three runs.
Going to protests/actions! Not everyone is able to of course and maybe the timing won’t work but standing in solidarity actually does shit and feels good??
Email and call your representatives! Of course there are different things to push locally but generally defunding the police is good :).
NPR’s guide to a safe summer roadtrip.
Prison abolition: a helpful comic.
A new version of Take Me Home, Country Roads to enjoy.
It’s a lil cheesy but also needed right now: How to validate yourself.
“One girl missing/another one go missing”
Pick A Bigger Weapon by the Coup came out in 2006 in the midst of Bush’s second term but it’s anti-Capitalist messages are very 2020 and I’ve been listening to this slow jam/worker struggle song a lot the last week and a half.
Private anxiety during a pandemic.
I ordered a serious mask from Ahluzua and it is on route and I’m so excited. The masks are pretty and made by Indigenous women!
Articles:
I’d never heard of Jimmy Fixx, the man who started the running trend which has become even bigger during the pandemic. Amy Cooper calling the cops on Christian Cooper is just everyday run-of-the-mill racism. A profile of Steve Buscemi. Larry Kramer’s political awakening and activism. The clearing of Lafayette Square, Trump the coward president. Business Insider’s amazing article about the rampant racism at Bon Appetit. Passing through the revolution. “How I feel as a Black woman.” TERFs and why Feminism is no place for them. A love letter to Philadelphia. The first eyewitness to the Nazi’s atrocities. Alexander Chee on the echoes of the AIDs crisis during Coronavirus.
Food:
This cauliflower and farro bake is a good grown up mac and cheese.
In my mystery produce box a month ago I got a quince. Despite looking like a pear (who knew?) it’s not edible raw so I spent about 5 hours making quince paste. It’s tasty but I don’t have many ideas for what to do with it, so please tell me what to do!
These pierogi are good and you can freeze them! I added fresh chives which I recommend if you have em!
I have been eating a lot of cabbage because you get so much out of one head and it lasts so long! A lot of various slaws have been made, most recently one using up the end of the Peruvian green sauce from this recipe (sans dairy) and some extra lime juice.
Delicious aloo tikki recipe which I would describe as better mashed potato patties.
bathroom plants
Stay particular,
Margaret