It is a tough time in DC and around the country right now. In the midst of a pandemic, we are seeing nationwide protests catalyzed by police brutality, racialized violence, systemic inequalities, and the deaths and mistreatment of Black people. People are grieving and people are also mobilizing.

I think most readers of the blog know I am a Black woman. What many do not know is that my father was killed by police when I was a junior in college. This was over 15 years ago when facebook was just becoming a thing. And now of course we have a ton of social media and so many ways of having conversations and expressing ourselves, so people are having difficult conversations around policing, race, equity, and democracy. We were already having many of these conversations in DC before the protests because of concerns around gentrification and change in this city, but protests have a way of focusing dialogue.

So I did want to take a moment to acknowledge this moment. There are a lot of resources out there for people who want to participate and also just learn. The National Museum of African American History and Culture just released a new portal called “Talking About Race.” Anyways, I encourage neighbors to find ways to embrace this moment as we continue to take care of ourselves and one another.