Brooklyn: I’m imploring the media to stop calling the storming of the Capitol a riot. It was not a riot. It was a coordinated, chaotic assault on a building that housed the democratically elected members of a government of 330 million citizens.
Brooklyn: Candy Schulman’s lovely July 19 op-ed, “An ode to librarians as they come under siege,” struck a poignant note with me. It took me back to a time nearly 22 years ago when I was under relentless financial hardship. I had lost my job and was trying to find another one, and my friends had relocated to other states and had no communication with me.
Manhattan: It’s Black Maternal Health Week, when all across the country, people are raising their voices and taking action to support the health of Black women, who are three to four times more likely to die in childbirth compared to their white counterparts, according to the CDC. As devastating as this overall statistic is, we can’t forget that it is even grimmer for a particular subset of Black women: those who are behind bars.
Courtenay, British Columbia: I am a 58-year-old gardener. My Ukrainian grandmother came here with her parents to escape war in Europe. My great-grandfather moved here from Poland. Today, I am ashamed of my heritage. I have just discovered how Ukrainian and Polish citizens are treating Indian and African students and other people of color who are fleeing the war.