Living in coronavirusworld 105: Unfinished work

7/7

Melba's, Harlem

Our New York City  Commissioners from the Presbyterian General Assembly meet to share our experiences. With two missing. There is a solid sense of frustration at the outcome. And that serious, if unintentional,  harm was done to Black women and girls. We conclude by continuing the discussion towards what could be done to call the Assembly back into session. Later the day, we hear from our only Black commissioner, a young woman. Her emotions kept her from participating. She  speaks of her anger, shame and disgust during the last session when the effort to get the action for Black women and girls was turned down twice.  While her mother and grandmother are watching. And the pain of generations continues unabated.   I let her know we are not willing to let this go. Sadly, the assembly thought would be over won’t let go, its work is not finished.  

It’s finally time to get my Covid-19 test at a local hospital clinic. It takes two hours of waiting in line to get in.  A tent with multiple stations is set up on the sidewalk in front of the clinic for the testing. No big deal but that swab up the nose is annoying. 

There is a Zoom surprise farewell party for a colleague of over 40 years. Wants to not retire in the Louisville (national church) office. I so understand that. The risk he’s taking. Having  agency in your going is worth the risk.

During this coronavirustime I have become a real fan of the National Theatre of London. (Available through live streaming). Their programming is a mix of the classical and contemporary. And during this lockdown and time of uprising they’ve had a special focus on experience of postcolonial Black britons. The Official Barbershop Chronicles framed lives through the lens of six African barbershops and one  African diaspora London shop. All watching the same international football game. Small Island focused on the experiences of Jamaican RAF pilots who fought for Britain in integrated forces during World War II only to move to London and find prejudice and discrimination. Finally, this week’s offering is Les Blancs, the last play written by Lorraine Hansbury. I confess to knowing little of Ms. Hansbury’s work beyond “Raisin in the sun…” This playwright, dying much too young at 35, believed that struggles for freedom in colonial Africa and the United States are the same struggle and inextricably linked. Unfinished work when she died, it was completed by her husband Robert Nemiroff. Rejected by frightened critics in 1970 for its by any means necessary conclusion.  Ms. Hansbury’s interest in in the intersectionality makes this not only a valuable but arguably an essential resource in determining what we must be  doing now. https://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/nt-at-home )