This is The Black Urbanist Weekly. I’m Kristen Jeffers and I’m making this weekly digital newsletter to share my Black, Spiritual, Diasporic North Carolinian, Working/Lower Middle-Class, Educated, Queer, CisFemme thoughts on how places and communities work. Think of this as my weekly column, sitting on your proverbial print paper’s editorial page or as so many other of your favorite newsletters do, in your inbox.
This is edition #26 and folks, we are in crisis. It’s not too late, but things at this point could get worse before better. Hence why I’m suspending my usual format and doing my best to keep you both informed and calm.
A shout-out.
To all the folks working in the hospitals, first-responders, delivery drivers, grocery stores and pharmacies and for all of our government entities. A special nod to all my federal employees and others who are waiting for permission to tele-work or at least get extended paid leave. For those of you who cannot stop working outside because what you do is vital to the continued function of both our health system and economy, I see you and I’m with you. Search for #mutualaid for specific efforts, similar to ones being taken here in DC to ensure bills are paid, people of all ages are fed, clothed, in their right mind and have the medication and cleaning supplies needed, education and trainings are offered and continued and alternatives to supporting in-person arts and conference trips are happening. It’s times like this that the support you provide via Patreon and Venmo to me are helpful. While I already have a couple of in-home projects, and I’m not my only source of household income, my conference season is currently on hold and if we are in long-term quarantine, I may become my only source of household income.
I’ve turned my social feeds into information feeds because we need it.
It’s sad that in 2020, you have to tell someone to not drink bleach to be cured from a disease. Of course, there are a lot of other sad things. Mainly how the US federal government has handled this; the worldwide deaths and serious illnesses and all the economic and social effects. Even if we all get better, there are concerns about students losing not just instructional time, but going hungry and losing a stable place to go. We already have people on the streets and in jails and yes, even those who are black, no matter who you are, can get sick from it. However, you can boost your immune system, be productive if you are working-from-home, even with children of any age (note, I would still be cautious with the playdates this article suggests) and I myself am balancing out the doom and gloom with some wonderful distractions. My Twitter and Instagram Stories are the best places to go for my real-time updates. I also encourage you to consult your city, county and state websites, Twitter feeds and Facebook pages, along with the World Health Organization and local hospital websites for up-to-date and accurate information about the virus and responses to it. Also, double-check information you send and please encourage municipalities, workplaces, family and friends to do right by their citizens, their workforces and their health.
I still want to hear from black women via my survey!
I still want to hear from you if you identify in any way with being a black woman or black womanhood. Thanks to the 8 people who have taken the time to do the survey so far and others who continue to share the information. In the coming weeks, I’ll be releasing more surveys using and reporting out all this data to build an even better picture of what life looks like for black folks and others here in the United States and around the world. I’ve learned so much so far, with the DC, Atlanta, Cleveland and San Francisco Metro Areas represented. I know you’re out there, please boost our representation numbers. Plus, once you get that skeptical person in the house for social distancing, or get cabin fever with your young and adult children back at home over the next few weeks, send this link to them and use it as a conversation starter!
A product promotion, but its a book and it can be delivered to your house!
I’ve been promoting a wonderful book of Black architectural history, that also doubles as a call-to-action to all of us to commit to building up and ensuring black folks are housed, as well as promoting and hiring black-led firms and developing multiple capabilities in-house. It’s by architect Melvin L. Mitchell and it’s called African American Architects: Embracing Culture and Building Up Urban Communities. Currently, you can mail order it directly to your home on Amazon and make it a part of your social distancing and quarantine activities. Soon, we hope to have it in as many bookstores as possible. Please feel free to share this link, in addition to purchasing a few copies and gifting them to folks who could use reading material, but are unable to purchase at this time.
Take care of yourselves and I’ll be back next week with the regular programing.
(P.S. Happy 66th Birthday to My Mom, who is safely at home and socially distancing. She also is a survivor on multiple levels and I pull from her strength today and especially every day).