A thing I read

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Today, I started my day by getting really pissed off about this story. I urge you to read it too. A 15-year-old black girl was sent to a detention center for not completing her homework in the middle of a global pandemic. This is just so heinous. And it happened in the county I live in.

For this judge to deploy her racism at a teenage girl for being bad at school during a crisis that most ADULTS aren’t managing very well, is so disgusting. And it’s part of a larger pattern where we’re setting up black kids for failure by pushing them into the criminal justice system at much too early an age.

A report released last month, which found inadequate legal representation for juveniles in Michigan, noted that research has shown a disproportionate number of youth of color are incarcerated in Michigan overall. Black youth in the state are incarcerated more than four times as often as their white peers, according to an analysis of federal government data by The Sentencing Project, a nonprofit that addresses racial disparities in the criminal justice system.

A teenager didn’t do her online schoolwork. So a judge sent her to juvenile detention.

After I read this story, I emailed a whole bunch of people involved with this case and signed a bunch of petitions demanding that this student, Grace, be released.

If you’re interested in taking action too, here are some ways:

Petitions:

People to contact:

Demands:

  • Immediately release Grace from juvenile detention and return her to her mother’s custody 
  • Judge Brennan should immediately resign from the bench of the Oakland County Family Court 
  • Prosecutor Jessica Cooper must drop all charges against Grace IMMEDIATELY and the Oakland County Prosecutor’s office must end the oppressive and racist practice of arresting and prosecuting children.

and VOTE!

The judge and prosecutors in this case are elected officials. We need to make sure that we have judges and prosecutors in office who are committed to anti-racist work. Don’t skip over these positions on your ballot—they have a major impact on your immediate community!

Up north

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I’ve already made some good progress on my summer bucket list. Over the weekend my partner and I went up to my family’s condo on Lake Huron and proceeded to have a near perfect trip full of all the quintessential summer things. I took a grand total of zero photos while there (living in the moment!) so allow me to recap via gifs.

We made the three hour trip to the lake late on Thursday to maximize our stay and wake up ready to relax on Friday morning. For our first full day at the beach, we started things off by cooking a big breakfast of french toast and veggie sausage, followed by a long beach walk. The condo is right on the beach, so we just head out the back and BOOM we’re on the beach. It’s wonderful.

The day had started out warm and clear, but by the time we returned from our walk, the clouds and wind had kicked up. In spite of the weather, I was itching to swim, so we raced inside, donned our bathing suits and ran back out into the lake. It was COLD but felt amazing after walking in the sticky, hot air. The rain started not long after, but a brief swim satisfied me for the time being.

The next day, we woke up to sunshine and heat. It was an excellent beach day and we spent the whole day alternating between laying in the sand and swimming, with short breaks back to the condo for food and bathroom breaks.

A little before dinnertime, the clouds started rolling in, so we left the beach for ice cream. There’s a great little outdoor ice cream stand with TONS of flavors within walking distance. The town is always pretty sleepy so we felt safe enough to mask up and go out for a cone.

We closed our evening by grilling some homemade lentil burgers and corn on the cob for dinner and then heading back to the beach for a bonfire and stargazing.

On our final day, the forecast predicted cooler temperatures, so we planned to just do a little reading on the beach before taking off for home. We didn’t get very far in our books before we realized the forecast was a lie, and the surprise hot weather demanded one last swim. It wasn’t long before the clouds took back over, but it was exactly the right way to cap off a much-needed beach trip. I can’t wait to go back and do it all over again.

This summer

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This is my short list of goals for this summer. I’m still taking quarantine very seriously, so my summer plans don’t involve much going out around other people, aside from my boyfriend who I’ve been quarantining with. But I’m not worried, I think we’ll still have a great summer.

Pick our own produce. Upick is kind of the perfect socially distanced activity. You drive right in and out of the fields in your own car, and there’s plenty of open space to wander away from other people. Our local farm is pretty huge and offers tons of different fruits and veggies to pick like raspberries, peppers, cherries, zucchini and much more.

Kayak as much as possible. A couple years ago we invested in our own kayaks and a big fancy rack to transport them on our car. I think it’s one of the best investments we’ve ever made. Living in Metro Detroit, we’re close to lots of lakes and rivers, so there’s always a new spot to explore. I really can’t think of a better way to spend a warm summer day than cruising down a river in my own little boat.

Take a couple trips up north. My family has a condo on Lake Huron with a really nice, big beach that’s nearly always empty, making this another perfect quarantine activity. All I want to do when I’m up there is lay on the beach, go swimming, eat lots of snacks, and maybe go for a hike—all perfectly easy things to do while avoiding other humans. Plus, the trip up there is only 3 hours, so we don’t even need to stop for bathroom breaks (as long as we watch our beverage intake!)

Take care of our garden and use our fresh produce. Right now we’re growing squash, cucumbers, tomatoes, bell peppers, rosemary, parsley, and garlic. I can’t wait for the plants to start fruiting and to cook with all this lovely, fresh produce. We have SO many tomato plants right now—I think I’ll work on perfecting a salsa recipe this summer.

Launch my Etsy shop for printable planner pages. I’ve been slowly working away at creating some printable planner pages for like…over a year now. I tend to really take my time when it comes to personal projects like this, but I’m happy to say this one is almost ready to launch!

May/June things

kate2 Comments

Wow, hey July. We’re here already, huh?

What have I been up to the last couple months? Great question, let me see if I can remember that far back.

I recommitted to learning and talking about racism. This is an exciting moment of deeper understanding and focus on a problem that has been swept under the rug by white people for far too long. We are moving forward and I’m committed to being a part of that. In particular, I’ve been really interested in the (new to me) concept of defunding police departments to give a bigger portion of city budgets to more productive areas like housing, schools, mental health, and addiction services can lead to better outcomes and less violence.

I’ve been doing lots of yoga and going on lots of runs. Taking the time to slow down and breathe during my yoga practice or getting my anxious energy out with a run around the neighborhood makes an incredible difference in my mental health. Lately, my brain space has felt pretty scattered, and moving my body every day is one of the best ways to make that space feel a little less chaotic.

I took a walk every day in May and woke up at 7am every day in June. And I liked it. I thought it would be REALLY hard to complete these goals, but it actually wasn’t once I committed to following through with them. I only missed 1 day of walking and 2 days of waking up at 7—not half bad considering how little self control I usually have when I don’t feel like doing something!

I discovered how much I like working in the yard. It’s been clear to me for a long time how good it makes me feel to spend time outside. And for the last few years I’ve enjoyed growing herbs and vegetables in our backyard. But I’ve always thought about putting in the effort to make the plants grow better and the yard look nice as boring, waste-of-time work. Maybe it’s just me getting older, but this year I actually look forward to spending time out in the sun pulling weeds and tending to the plants. I love the feeling of being coated in sun and dirt and sweat mixed with the pride of having an outside space that looks and feels so much more beautiful and inviting.

Black Voices Matter

kateLeave a comment

I feel like my brain has been in space the last couple of weeks.

It’s hard to stay focused on anything other than all the work we need to be doing for racial justice. There are so many great conversations happening online right now and an ever growing list of important actions we all need to be taking to overhaul the unjust systems we’re living under. I’m trying to keep up as much as possible while also meandering through all the other life stuff I have going on.

Luckily, one thing I have been able to accomplish is making my usual monthly playlist. My playlist themes always revolve around the season and what I’m feeling each month. So obviously, I’m here to present to you: Black Voices Matter—a collection of some of my favorite black artists I’ve been listening to lately.

Please listen, enjoy, and stay engaged!