26 Search results for "quarantine"

Recognizing the labor of Black women, mothers, and caretakers during COVID-19
by Jenn M. Jackson My sixty-eight year old mother has been an unpaid, unofficial caretaker for my grandmother for at least twenty years. She was a social worker for more than three decades. Now, she also works for free as an administrative assistant at church. After delivering fresh produce and cooked meals to my elderly […]
Accessing competent care is another hurdle Black folks shouldn’t have to navigate
Content Warning: Medical Violence My nana, Ella D. Martin, was a nurse from Greenwood, Louisiana who slept with medical books underneath her bed, and sometimes her pillow. And no matter the time of day, Nana would receive medical emergency calls from folks all over the world, well until she was 80. Though she worked in […]
Violating stay-at-home orders directly harms Disabled folks, but what else is new?
Content Warning: Ableism, Car Accident, Death and Discrimination by Dominique Alexander McPhearson I’m in my room watching old NBA highlights, since the NBA, along with the rest of the country, is on lockdown. Quarantine doesn’t bother me as much as it seems to bother other people. After an accident left me paralyzed from the chest […]
How to navigate shared spaces that don’t invite in more panic
Whether you willingly choose to live with others or are doing so because most folks can’t afford to live alone, carving out space for yourself can be a difficult but necessary process in supporting your well being. As we continue to be bombarded with new COVID-19 studies, cases and deaths, feelings of instability, paranoia, anger, […]
The Five Signs of a Great (Virtual) Black Therapist
by Imadé Nibokun Finding a Black therapist can be hard, and finding one during a pandemic is even harder. The social distancing required by the COVID-19 outbreak means that on top of being Black- affirming and capable of supporting your mental health needs, therapists need to be accessible virtually. RELATED: Reminders and affirmations to […]
Now is an opportunity for Black folks to reimagine what constitutes loss
by Donnie Moreland My father is a diabetic, with chronic pain and a fragile immune system due to rounds of dialysis, which cause more pain and thus tosses him into the throws of a cycle which is, observably, hell. He is also a business owner, which necessitates an urgency of decision making, that suffers when […]
COVID-19 or not, Black folks are building virtual spaces of joy, intimacy and tenderness
The impacts of capitalism and society’s never ending romanticization of working hard, being productive and making money (lest we be labeled lazy) have done a disservice to our relationships. We usually don’t have time to check in because even when we are off of work, we’re too exhausted to be present enough to support vulnerable, […]
Comic: Stop mocking accessibility and mobility tools for the disabled and elderly
by JeCorey Holder
Crisis makes clear who can afford to survive (and who cannot)
“That’s all anybody can do right now. Live. Hold out. Survive. I don’t know whether good times are coming back again. But I know that won’t matter if we don’t survive these times.” – Octavia E. Butler While on a hike today, I spoke with two folks about how our bodies are shaped by the […]
Learning to love myself enough to f*ck raw while Black and HIV positive
By Timothy Duwhite My boyfriend wants to fuck me raw. Though he hasn’t said it yet, eventually he will. Right now, however, he is just a tapestry of hints and subtleties. He asks me if he can just put the head in. He says he just wants to loosen me before slipping on the condom. […]
An anti-Ebola march in SW Philadelphia: “I’m a West African – not a virus.”
The following piece is from Philly. It was written by Jeff Gammage. By: Jeff Gammage Practically everyone at the march had a story about people who refused to shake hands or moved to another bus seat when they realized they were near a Liberian. “Once they hear our accent, people try to avoid us,” […]
2 patients with Ebola-like symptoms admitted to hospitals in Chicago
A child who threw up on a plane and a man with nausea who landed in Chicago were taken to hospitals as a precaution after being screened for Ebola at O’Hare International Airport. Doctors do not believe they were exposed to the virus.