“As August draws closer, I will continue to let myself dream of my baby and their future. I will continue to sing and read to my baby, and remind them that though this world can be dark and filled with selfish people, it also has real beauty and self-giving people as well. I will continue to pray for the health and safety of my baby and all soon to be mothers across the world who are facing the same challenges, or deeper ones, than I am. As scary as COVID-19 is I refuse to let it destroy the joy of the miracle and mystery that motherhood is.”

“Preparing food, to me, is one way that I care for myself: I love the creativity of transforming fresh produce into a delicious meal, as if I were creating a mixed-media art piece. It’s a way of accomplishing one small thing that nourishes and re-energizes me. It’s a way of absorbing and honoring the energy that farmers, farm workers, and gardeners (including myself) have put into growing the food I’m putting into my body.”

“I think it is important to support black owned business, especially at a time like this where people are being divided more and more. Supporting black-owned businesses is not reparations, and it is not enough, but it is a small way that an individual can empower less privileged communities and help lift them up from the many systemic ways that they are oppressed.”

“America, God is not our scapegoat. God did not create these problems; we did. And whether you are holding up the Bible as a magical talisman or whether you think the president is the Antichrist, God wants no part of our partisan fiddling as the nation literally is burning. In another time of national crisis, President Lincoln once said, ‘Sir, my concern is not whether God is on our side. My greatest concern is to be on God’s side, for God is always right.'”