1/22/2021

My Dear Friend & POTUS, JRB,

            Welcome to the WH & welcome to my letters. I’m sorry that you had to wait for the WH doors to open upon your arrival the other day. As you well know, things have been in disarray there for quite some time. It was such a relief to hear that you have commanded your staff to treat each other respectfully. That should help.

            When your predecessor was in charge, I wrote him every day. As a Quaker I felt compelled to try to love him & to see that of God in him. The only way I could do that was to keep track of his comings & goings & try to see him as a misguided brother who needed lots of advice & encouragement. I ended up writing him 403861 words, 2000 characters at a time. The practice helped to humanize him so I did not have to waste time fearing my president.

            While I do not fear you, I’m sure you can use encouragement & advice, so, for the time being, I am going to continue my practice. For me, it’s a form of prayer, which restores my soul. I don’t have to tell you about the power of prayer so I’m sure you’ll understand this impulse.

            So today I’d like to thank you & Jill for inviting Amanda Gorman (ASCG) to be your poet laureate. I know a few young folk who “spit” & am sure they were inspired by her. As the Guardian notes, those snippets from her performance being replayed on TV provide “lyric adrenaline bursts to reanimate democracy” & as Karen Attiah wrote in today’s WP her words provide an “elixir to a nation in critical condition, pure truth poured into an ocean of lies and division.” I was excited to hear about ASCG’s One Pen, One Page organization that promotes spoken word poetry.

            Please look into the situation in the prisons in GA. According an investigation by the AJC, federal intervention is necessary. The folks who inhabit the prisons are in squalid conditions where violence is rampant. It’s inhumane. Please see what you can do.

            Holding you in the Light,