The coming weeks mark the anniversary of the onset of the pandemic; a jolting series of unfortunate clusters that uprooted our ways of life and made daily life for many others an unbearable nightmare. People have suffered because those in charge were incapable of reading the signs, planning appropriately, and listening to the experts. And now, over 500,000 (a conservative estimate at the time of this writing) have passed away; the futures of their loved ones darkened by their losses. The lives of those lost have weighed on my mind since the beginning, making me think about what it should mean to plan for the future where a pandemic will [most likely] continue to ravage across the globe. And, in reflecting on my own work, I’ve returned to what I wished had been done: make multiple plans, listen to the experts, and be graceful in the likelihood of failure, postponement, or disappointment.
Through my work with the City of Walla Walla’s Neighborhood Engagement Program, I am starting to plan a summer of block parties. These won’t be the block parties of yore where people did not have to think about the possibility of COVID exposure; manage masks and eating at the same time, and maintain physical-distance from those outside their households. Rather, ideally, we will organize these gatherings so that those fears are not on people’s minds when they see their neighbors, friends, and coworkers. Those involved across the community will minimize risks so that people can maximize engagement and social connection. That has started with reaching out to stakeholders in the community who share the same goals and priorities that the program does. It means that we have plans A through D so that one way or another a block party will happen. I like to think of it as our COVID safe way or the highway. Planning the future has always been a fool’s game–the old saying “man (woman or person) plans and God laughs”–has even more relevance in 2021. BUT, what happens when there are multiple plans? My hope is that one way or another, something will happen. Because, ultimately something must happen and we have to continue to adjust to this way of life, for however long it is our very real reality.
In addition to the heightened uncertainty that we are all experiencing, I have also found myself thinking about what a renewed commitment to equitable and justice-oriented engagement should look like in 2021 and beyond. After the murder of too many Black individuals, 2020 saw a lot of organizations/companies/influencers committing to racial equality, increasing diversity and inclusion practices, and all around trying to convince us that things were going to change (check out this Vox article that explores some of the reactions of consumers). Our own college even sent Ibram X. Kendi’s How to be an Anti-Racist to everyone in our campus community, and has instilled a year-long theme of Race, Violence, and Health for academic programming. But I think that if we are listening to the experts about what cultivating active anti-racism looks like, we ought to know that it is not going to happen overnight, over a semester, or even over a year. Nor, will it be (or should it be) an individual endeavor. If this pandemic has taught us anything it is this: we are all connected; connected to our families, friends, coworkers, classmates, frenemies, enemies, and strangers. The nature of this virus highlights what we have tried to ignore for years; we are connected to another by choice or reality. We are all integral to our own and each other’s lives (a riff from Teju Cole’s Power & Privilege Keynote conversation). What that means is that in a renewed commitment to our uncertain futures, we have to get uncomfortable thinking and dedicate ourselves to being active and connected in our communities. Maybe, when the next pandemic happens, we will be better equipped in all matters to fight it off with fewer casualties and distress. I know that my work with the Neighborhood Engagement Program asks me to do this, and I continue to struggle and re-dedicate myself to these practices. I hope you (whoever reads this) will join me too!