So. We're at day 61.
I came with the title of this entry around October 2024. I was in the midst of development for a upcoming project and was extremely eager to share. Then out of the 155 million people who voted, Trump won by an margin in most states - more than in others. The way that mainstream media reports would have you believe it was a landslide. The manufacturing of a narrative that uplifts a minority of people to represent the sentiment of a majority is an age-old practice in America, ironically going back to the box office. It gives those that James Baldwin mentions in The Fire Next Time some sense of purpose with all of that “know-how” and cosmopolitan education. But if it’s devoid of action, a sense of curiosity as to what to do next outside of a sense of communal hibernation, it’s clear, then, that this was yet another (although extreme) episode in the 248-year old series of this very large political theater.
Last November, I wrote about why I feel art is more important than ever. I was clear that I didn’t mean vapid, commercial, “Billboard top 10” art but art that carries what Nina Simone called, the message of the time, since that’s the role of the artist: to convey that. There’s very few signals of the such in mainstream media and that’s part of a pacifying behavior that held the scene hostage since the early 90s. So, it’s important to go to those local small venues, those smaller galas; places where art is more about you being there to experience it and less so to check it off on your cultural awareness list from Buzzfeed.
Where Have You Been?
A lot of places. I went to Detroit for the first time (in my life) and saw a lot of parts that expanded my perception of how and where Black folks live in America. It also aggressively dispelled the notion that Black folks aren’t engaged in any sort of union labor - I was staying across from a chapter of the National Letter Carriers Association and met an shop steward - third generation Detroit resident - who gave me the rundown. This is the opposite of the manager at Code for America who said with his chest that labor doesn’t want or need Black people. When folks work too far away from the ground, they tend to repeat things like that.
I spent time in Baltimore, another city I haven’t visited in years, but got to try Olive Garden for the first time. Those bread-sticks are something; very eager to go back.
As you might have seen, the federal government is being used as a toy by the son of a Klan advocate and the other son of a collection of blood mineral mines. I work at an organization dedicated to expanding federal services and the disruption of firing thousands of workers at the Veteran Affairs caused some turmoil. Fortunately, we’re able to pick our work back up. However, there’s no guarantee since anything digital is up for deletion. I have too many talented friends out of work because of this. The organization that operated as the elite tech wing of the government, 18F, was gutted. The other that provides support for general services, USDS, was renamed to DOGE, an act that I loathe due to now the public’s hatred of an agency that once made parts of government invisible to others. The folks at 18F made a website that you should check out; declaring that they’re still here and ready to serve.
We’re not in uncharted territory but no one on the boat knows how to read a map anymore and everything is asking to navigate to the “Gulf of America”. This was supposed to be titled “A Justification for Joy” since November but I think I’ll hold on that when one presents itself. Right now, focus on how you can uplift people around you and in your geographical community - this administration, the State as a whole, banks on our inability to connect, our artificial sense of isolation from one another. Now’s a great time to understand mutual aid.