January 1, 2021
Peace Out 2020, a billboard in Napa proclaims. Similar to other cities and groups, Napa looks forward to a less tumultuous year by bidding 2020 good riddance. Unfortunately, anti-black violence, the coronavirus 19 pandemic, and wildfires did not miraculously fade away at the stroke of midnight. 2021 (and years to come), still presents US with much work to do. The United States has over 20 million cases of COVID 19. Nearly 600 people died in California today, bringing the state total for deaths to around 26,000. Statistics provide vital information but I am not sure the physical and emotional toll sinks in for many. In other words, what does the suffering and death of 1000 people per day look like? The Los Angeles Times Bodies Pile Up heart-wrenching account of the devastation at Los Angeles county hospitals should give anyone pause. Patients gasping for air before realizing the futility of their efforts are more than just mere numbers. News of families shattered by raging fires in Northern and Southern California is equally elusive until smoke blanketing urban areas hundreds of miles downwind threaten individuals with respiratory ailments. I have had to evacuate four times in the last six years. George Floyd—another person gasping for air. Academia, corporations, churches, grassroot organizations have launched anti-racism initiatives across the nation. The framing of anti-black violence initiatives, in many cases, is now moving beyond the black problem myth to acknowledging that racism is an American problem that requires US to persist in dismantling. It is truly sad to have to stress that the COVID-19 pandemic is real, climate change is real, and anti-black violence is real. The pre-2020 normalcy that some are clamoring for however is not.
Sharon Y. Fuller 