MINNEAPOLIS COMMUNITY
This evening Susie and I went to a fundraiser for some families in Minneapolis who are afraid to leave their homes and who, without work, are out of money.
The fundraiser was held in Primrose’s tea tent in her studio on the island. By the time Susie and I got there the room was packed with young people extending out into the hallway and the din of voices was so loud that it was hard for me to hear anyone. The meal was rice and either chicken or vegan stew. By the time we got there the salad was gone and the stew was about to run out. We were requested to donate $10 or $20 which was stuffed into a large jar.
But what struck me most about the evening was the feeling of community. It was the Marshall community who filled the room with their presence and their chatter and their laughter. But it was also a way to connect with the Minneapolis community, neighbor helping and protecting neighbor, which I’ve read so much about this week. In some way it was the Minneapolis community extending all the way to little Marshall, NC, but also the little Marshall community extending to Minneapolis. My sister in law, my brother Richard’s wife, is a Minneapolis family and Chris and Richard have lived in Minneapolis for a number of years before moving to New York. So I have a personal connection to Minneapolis. During the last ten days the weight of Trump’s ICE invasion of Minneapolis, the fear of immigrants and the murder of two people observing the protests, has hung over me. Having dinner in a room full of lively people and contributing $20 is a small thing, but it helps to turn horror into community and makes me feel a little less hopeless.
VIDEO OF MARSHALL COMMUNITY
https://share.icloud.com/photos/0b7lPav2FXl4kQQCjgAQyWDXQ
VIDEO OF PRIMROSE AND COMMUNITY
https://share.icloud.com/photos/079pozEwmmH-H6PGWEGICjlpw
BILLYBABA’S WANDERING 