As people around Baltimore, the United States, and the world have mobilized around the conflict and death happening in the Gaza Strip, my mind has gone to two places.
I think of how much humans have the capacity for violence, destruction and hate and that it doesn’t seem like we’ll see the end of that in any of our lifetimes. But I also think of community and how, when bad things happen, there are always people who have hastened to help, to speak up, and to teach. The systems we live under aren’t designed to save us, but community always will.
Organizations like the Black Alliance for Peace have organized gatherings to teach about the history of the Gaza Strip and given context to help us understand how the conflict there links back here to Baltimore as part of a larger, global struggle. People of all races, religions and backgrounds have convened to mourn the many, many dead and demand that our leaders do more to put a stop to the genocide that is happening even as I write these words.
There have been many marches held in Baltimore to demand a ceasefire in this conflict. Reporter Jaisal Noor went to one held on Oct. 20 that the Party of Socialism and Liberation organized.
“Organizers highlighted the long-standing solidarity between Palestinians and Black Lives Matter,” he writes. “In Baltimore, activists have also likened the systemic oppression and violence Black Baltimore residents face to apartheid.”
Also, please be sure to take a look at photos from that march, shot by Myles Michelin.
Also in this issue, S. Ireti interviews with playwright Tatiana Nya Ford. Ford’s play, “Lyra and the Ferocious Beast,” completed a successful run this summer. She is also a licensed therapist, and she spoke with Ireti about what it means to be an artist, how she creates, and how she weaves her work as a therapist into the stories she tells.
Iya Osundara Ogunsina is back with tarotscope readings for the month of November, Dominic Griffin reviews the new Jamie Foxx film, “The Burial,” and we have a poem from Writers in Baltimore Schools participant Chidera Obianuka titled “The Colors of a Mother’s Soul.”
As always, thanks for reading.