7/2/2023

JRB,

            It’s going to be another scorcher here. I will be closing all the windows in the house momentarily to capture the cool. The upstairs will be stuffy & hot by 4:00 PM.  At that time we will hunker down in the TV room where our mini-split keeps the room at 80 degrees.

Our foster dog, Tabitha2, is staying there. She looks just like our dear departed pet. Unfortunately, she is traumatized of from being separated from her 4 offspring & refuses to move. She laments her loss by howling every now & then but is otherwise comatose. Hard to witness.

            How can we remedy trauma & loss? The latest 1000-page report from the CA slavery reparations task force provides some possibilities. Unfortunately, we can’t turn back time so when ancestors have been robbed of their land, separated from their families, forced to work without compensation, brutally treated & prevented from learning, it’s hard to know how ameliorate things. I hope the American Freedmen Affairs Agency takes shape so it can work at the governmental level to draw attention to the legacy of slavery. In the meantime, each of us can do our own thing, by “practicing a lifestyle of repair.” According to the CSM, “the African-American Redress Network documents 463 instances of reparations & redress, 85% of which are not financial repair, but historical analysis, commemoration, or memorialization…Building a genuine connection between Black & white communities…is the insurance against the pay-to-make-this-go-away gesture.” My effort involves working with a former 1st gen. student of mine to help her develop the financial stability I have always enjoyed. I’ll keep you posted.

            On a different matter, please continue to stay tuned to the developments in Burma especially in the areas affected by Cyclone Mocha. 

            BYBS,