Sketching the Pandemic Year 2020 Week 24

Sketching the Pandemic Year 2020 week 24  June 7-13 

“…..Because none of us are free

Until all of us break our chains.

We owe it to the fallen to fight, 

But we owe it to ourselves 

To never stay kneeling 

When the day calls us to stand together.

We envision a land 

That is liberated, not lawless;

We create a future 

That is free not flawless.

Over and over, again and again,

We will stride up every mountain side,

Magnanimous and modest.

We will be protected and served 

By a force that is honored and honest.

This is more than a protest—

It’s a promise!”

~ Faith And Fury by Amanda Gorman 

The nation and the world have been rocked by the Black Lives Matter protests after video of George Floyd’s death/murder went viral. Amanda Gorman wrote the poem in response to the protests that erupted all over the world. She read/performed the poem Faith and Fury at the Bach Virtuosi Festival’s Virtuosi Virtual on Aug 16, 2020. To watch and listen to the full moving performance and poem, click here.

The bridal ornament with chains and pendants photographed in the Smithsonian Engagement Calendar 2020 is Diadem (taounza) from the Southern Morocco and is a symbol of honesty and purity.  

‘Black Lives Matter’  sketch by Meera Rao