What is happening in my country right now is so intense. I am not quite sure what to say, just that a friend of mine put it really well when she said that incidents of white racist violence cannot be compared to acts of Black protest. I’ve been listening to the House impeachment hearings most of the day. With each person who compares the Black Lives Matter movement to the violent angry white insurrectionists who attempted a coup last week, I feel a little more nauseated. I also would really appreciate it if white democrats would stop claiming that “this is not who we are” as a country. Naw man, our country is 100% based on white violence against people of color. Physical violence, violence in economic, healthcare, education, and so many other aspects of our lives. We as white people have to acknowledge this and own it in order for anything to change.
Is there a smooth way to transition to talking about a 1920s song I recorded that was written by a Russian American (Irving Berlin) and burned into my brain forever by my favorite jazz singer of all time, African American Ella Fitzgerald? No, but since it is what I do, I recorded it am sharing it with you.
Sending love to you from unceded Tiwa land (so-called Albuquerque)—
Sage