Tuesdays w/TJae: Filibusters and Protests

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Hey there, Reader!

It's April 1st and you won't find a prank inside because there is plenty of foolishness and more than enough fools already . . .

Last night I listened as long as I could to Senator Cory Booker as he launched into his speech. I had been referring to it as a filibuster, but I now understand that term is used specifically when the person intends to delay a vote. What Senator Booker set out to do was protest "for as long as [he] was physically able or until [he] was removed from the floor." He read letters from, and shared concerns of, his constituents. He held court on the floor of the Senate.

In many circles that I sit in, there's been a bevy of complaints about Democratic Leadership. And with good reason. We feel failed. So I actively cheered for Senator Booker because he was doing something that few folks in governmental leadership are doing and probably that few folks expected of him.

He put his body in the fight.

Some of you may be planning to participate in one of the Hands Off! protests taking place on April 5th. This particular hyperlink will take you to plans for the Houston event at City Hall from 12-3. There are similar events planned nationwide.

You may be planning to put your body in the fight.

Here are tips from content creator Portia Noir on how to prepare for April 5th. Among them she suggests:

• Turning off the biometrics on your cellphone and use a password
• Be sure you have phone numbers written down or memorized
• Know how to find the people you attend with / stay together

It sucks that we have to plan in this way. It sucks that this is where we are. ALSO - this is where we've been.

There isn't a time in the history of America when someone wasn't harmed by government. The gradual change over time has been who is harmed and to what degree. If you now find yourself in the community of people who feels harmed, or in near proximity to those who are are harmed - I am sorry that you are experiencing this . . . . Also, welcome to the view of the country that so many people have had for such a long time.

Portia also mentions in her video that Black and Brown folks might not be as willing to put our bodies in the fight this time.

I'm inclined to agree. Speaking only for Tracie - the cost of getting too many Black and Brown bodies in this fight might be more than any of us want to pay. Our bodies (Black bodies) tend to signal a threat in American culture and would be an invitation for armed violence and martial law.

I hope millions of people are in the street on April 5th. And I hope they will be mostly folks who thought they were at liberty to sit it out before.

If you are going out on April 5th - be safe and be brave and be bold. We're all counting on you.

Theater Talkback Join us Sunday, April 13th for an Audience Conversation following the matinee performance of "Memoriam" at Main Street Theater. Memoriam is a layered and nuanced play about our memories and who has the right to hold them. Info + Tickets

At the end of this month, I am honored to curate a class for Jung Center Houston anchored in the work of Dr. Clint Smith. If your schedule is open on April 30, 6-8pm, I hope you will join the conversation.

In case you're new to Tuesdays w/ TJae, you should know that you won't receive emails from me every Tuesday, or on any particular Tuesday - but always (well, normally) on a Tuesday. As a child, whenever we'd visit my Grandpa James, he'd end the visit by saying "See you Tuesday," no matter when we were scheduled to see him again. So this newsletter is part nod to James Rivers, and part nod to my love of alliteration.

See you Tuesday!
TJae