Speaking up – #BlackLivesMatter (and a #GNU)

A new leaf, the fifth, sprouting from my Hope Plant (05.25.2020). It was lovely to watch the tightly curled leaf unfurl.

There is an awful lot going on in the world right now, even more so than when I published last month, which I didn’t think was possible.

In addition, this post is very “late” (i.e., not published on my self-imposed deadline of the 15th of the month), partially because it’s not just me writing and editing my thoughts; I’m trying to share information and links, which makes it even more of a puzzle than usual.

And, a patient in Spain has contacted me. I can’t ignore someone reaching out who needs help, so I’m trying to resurrect my dusty Spanish and give her some esperanza, or, if nothing else, let her know someone is listening.

Although I stayed silent on the issues surrounding the virus, I cannot stay completely silent on things happening right now that are affecting many different people from many different communities, some of which I belong to, and some of which I’m simply an ally. I’m horrified at many of the stories I’m reading.

And although I’d like to address all of these issues, I simply cannot – I don’t have the brain power or the energy or the knowledge to speak to all of them, and this post is already longer than most people can read. (And at 105 drafts and counting, I think it’s time to hit the “publish” button and be done with it.)

I hope the words in this post make sense and the meaning is clear, tho no promises. And if I make a misstep in what I say, please tell me. I am (clearly!) not perfect, and I want to learn. (But please also be nice about it!)

#BlackLivesMatter

Today, as I write, it’s Friday the 19th, Juneteenth.

If you don’t know what Juneteenth is (and let’s face it, you probably don’t; it’s listed in my iPhone calendar, but not on either of my printed calendars!), according to the Juneteenth site, it “is the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States. Dating back to 1865, it was on June 19th that the Union soldiers, led by Major General Gordon Granger, landed at Galveston, Texas with news that the war had ended and that the enslaved were now free.”

One of my fellow advocate MEeps, Wilhelmina Jenkins, who is Black and has been ill since 1983(!!!), shared this article from the Bitter Southerner by Celia Walker: Why Do We Celebrate Juneteenth? Because We Are Free To Do So. Wilhelmina wrote this about it:

“This is the best essay that I have read on Juneteenth. It’s written by a Black woman who, like my mother’s family, grew up in Texas. My mother talked to me about celebrating Juneteenth in Denison, TX as a girl. But by the time I was born, Black people were looking forward because looking backwards was so painful. That began to change in the ‘70s when Black people began to look back and reclaim our histories. This author beautifully explains why that reclamation was so important.

“As a nation, we cannot move forward unless we acknowledge the truth of our past. For my Texas family, emancipation was just the first step in the journey to find a place where they could be free to live their lives and raise their families. That struggle continues today. Juneteenth reminds us to celebrate our victories, and then keep working to make this country the more perfect union that we continue to believe that it can be. That belief, that hope, is what I consider to be patriotism.”

As the quote goes, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it” (attributed to writer and philosopher George Santayana). And as I’ve said many times, trying to ignore the bad parts just gives them strength: we have to drag them into the light, learn from them, and work to stop them.

Also, don’t come at me with “All Lives Matter”. Yes, yes, they do. However, the current #BlackLivesMatter movement is needed to highlight the disparities and prejudices and unfairness that Black people face every day, simply because of the color of their skin.

These two pieces by Bless the Messy explain this concept so well:

(You can read the artist’s statement and see all of the panels in this series on her Facebook page. You can also find her on Instagram or Twitter.)

So does this article on Vox by German Lopez: Why you should stop saying “all lives matter,” explained in 9 different ways. As someone stated somewhere (apologies; I cannot remember who): when you say “Black Lives Matter, you are saying they matter TOO, not that ONLY they matter”.

And if you think racism doesn’t exist anymore, you are both sadly mistaken and highly privileged, as demonstrated by this post on Facebook by a black man named David Gamble Jr., who is younger than I am. And the awful stories I hear from my black friends, and my former students…

Also, if you don’t understand why something might be racist, don’t just say “nah” and dismiss it – research and find out WHY it’s racist! Then vow not to do or say or support it any more!

There are number of ways you can help #BlackLivesMatter, which have been collected (THANK YOU to whoever has done so!) on this site: #BlackLivesMatter. There are petitions to sign (the number of which are staggering!), places to donate, other resources, and much more, including education resources.

The organization Black Lives Matter Foundation, which was founded in 2013, has resources, programs, and articles. (The image I’ve included to the left is their logo.)

A fellow MEep just posted a link to this excellent resource, Justice in June, compiled by Autumn Gupta with Bryanna Wallace’s oversight for the purpose of providing a starting place for learning about #BlackLivesMatter. As they say in their intro, “Choose how much time you have each day to become more informed to becoming an active ally to the black community” – 10, 25, or 45 minutes a day – whatever works for you. It has links for you to watch, read, listen, and ways to act. (You can visit them both on twitter.)

And if you wonder why I would chose to include this topic on my blog when ostensibly I write about chronic illness, besides my goal of shining a light in the dark places, read this excellent post by #MEAction: Black Lives Matter. As they wrote:

“Our fight for health equity for people with ME cannot be fought without recognizing the systemic racism that perpetuates in our country and our world. It cannot be fought without considering the Black members of our community who have confronted even more difficulties and more barriers because of their race.”

It is well documented that Blacks and people of color face greater discrimination in healthcare due to their race. Even being famous doesn’t stop a black woman from having her concerns dismissed‬ – as told in this article: What Serena Williams’s scary childbirth story says about medical treatment of black women.

I’ll close this section with a couple positive stories and info from the #BlackLivesMatter movement. (I chose not to share the negative things happening; it’s in your face enough as it is.)

The site Disability Horizons recently published an article 8 influential black women with disabilities to follow.

I also enjoyed this story: Protesting from a pedestal: ‘No one can ignore a black woman on a horse’: Black horsewoman Brianna Noble rode her horse Dapper Dan through Downtown Oakland on May 29.

The Macmillan imprint Fierce Reads put together Books by Black Authors to Add to Your TBR List. In addition, I can personally recommend these Black authors:

• Nnedi Okorafor [affiliate link], who I first discovered ten years ago when I was able to request Who Fears Death [affiliate link] (optioned as a TV series for HBO, with executive producer George R. R. Martin!; gosh, I’m mad my ARC disappeared!) from the invite-only Amazon Vine [affiliate link] program;
• Leah Vernon, and her book Unashamed: Musings of a Fat, Black Muslim [affiliate link]; and
• Keah Brown, disability activist and author of The Pretty One: On Life, Pop Culture, Disability, and Other Reasons to Fall in Love with Me [affiliate link].

(I could go on and on, but this blog is already long enough.)

#GNUBryherRainbird

Bryher’s last facebook profile pic, showing her and her rescue chihuahua, Rocco.

One of my chronic illness friends, Bryher Rainbird, unexpectedly died sometime on June 12 of respiratory complications, at a mere 34 years of age. I’m sure Death escorted her personally over the Black Sands.

Bryher suffered so much her entire life from her illnesses, yet she was so very kind and giving. If I was feeling down about my own illnesses, she was always there with a supportive word. When anyone in our little, private support group was having a hard time, she always had thoughtful, helpful responses.

Words fail me to describe how much she means to me. And I know the grief over her loss has been contributing to the difficulty I’m having putting my thoughts together for this blog. The grief is a horrible shroud…

Our mutual friend, Alice Ballinger, who I’ve featured on my blog before, recorded a short obituary for Bryher for BBC World Service radio, which you can listen to on Soundcloud.

Bryher volunteered her very limited spoons and time to help promote Ravenswell, an animal charity. She loved all creatures, great and small, but especially birds.

If you can, please help me honor Bryher’s life by making a donation to Ravenswell, which you can do via their gofundme; by sponsoring a bird, becoming a Friend of Ravenswell, or donating, all through paypal, with details on their How You Can Help page. I was pleased to see that they can use postage stamps, so if you are a philatelist, like me, and have spare stamps, contact them to coordinate a donation. You can also learn more about them on their Facebook page.

Fly free, my dear Bryher.

(For those who don’t know or don’t rememember, GNU, Death, and the Black Sands are all from the works of Sir Terry Pratchett, one of my Very Favorite Authors, who wrote “A man is not dead while his name is still spoken.”)

I’d like to thank #MEAction for sharing my last blog post, we’re all just muddling along, as part of their advocacy efforts for #MEAwarenessMonth. They did a whole thread on twitter and on Facebook, quoting part of what I wrote and adding:

“People will carry the burden of advocacy when you cannot and then you will pick up the burden when you can.

“It is why we so desperately need this community of #MEAction. We can keep moving forward as a community allowing individuals to take the break their bodies insist on taking.”

I’m also so grateful for the people who stopped by my blog, commented, shared, and followed my blog because of their posts.

A big THANK YOU! to whoever nominated me for this year’s Wego Health Award – Best in Show: Blog. If you would like to add a nomination for me, simply hop over to my Wego Health profile and click the blue “nominate me” link. This is my second year as a nominee, which you can read about in my post Help Me Help Others!

Before you go:

If you found this post useful or inspiring, please consider supporting the Solve ME/CFS Initiative before June 30. They need 1,500 people to give in any amount by that date. That’s six days away! When you give, they will receive $100,000 for their fiscal-year-end campaign and each donation will be QUADRUPLED! They’ve also made it very easy to see if your employer does matching gifts, which further increases the impact of your donation.

Any funds they receive will help support the Ramsay Research Grant Program, their advocacy work, and the You + M.E. Registry and Biobank.

Please also consider donating to the Open Medicine Foundation that focuses on research and looking for a cure; or #MEActionNet, an organization that focuses on advocacy. Donate online with a credit card, giftcard, or paypal! You can also help establish the new The Morten Group at Oxford University by donating to their launch campaign (details about them and their launch coming in a future blog post).

If you’d rather support me and my ramblings directly, you can do so:

• with a $3 tip at ko-fi.com/dsavannah. Occasionally I post photos there that I don’t post anywhere else – and did so on June 8. THANK YOU! to the person who recently bought me some coffees!
• or by sending me something from my Amazon wishlist (now conveniently separated into categories: Miscellaneous stuff., books for my hoard!, dSavannah’s health needs, and music I’d like).

You can also help me by clicking my affiliate links – As an Amazon Associate [affiliate link] I earn from qualifying purchases. This means if you click a link, and buy something (not necessarily even something I’ve linked to), I supposedly get a wee percentage of the sale. Doesn’t cost you anything, and helps me support my taking medication habit. (Note: links to my wishlist do not count, for whatever reason!)

I am also an affiliate for my web hoster, Lyrical Host. If you switch your site (which was soooo easy, even for brain-fogged me!) to them, or decide to start one, just use the code “dsblog10” at checkout and get 10% off your first hosting plan payment! It’s a win for all of us!

Your support keeps me going, even in tough times. Thank you for stopping by my blog.

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