June 2021: The year since George Floyd. How’s America doing? Read how the pandemic and protests spawned a mission right here. Plus, the Best of Spring. And what are we looking forward to for Summer? Maude reports.
The solstice has already arrived! Happy summer! Really, don’t things seem fairly normal? We’re certainly not where we were two summers ago. And COVID is far from over. But we’re a world away from where we were twelve months ago. At that time, barely anything had been written on this site. In the archives, you can find a few articles from the summer of 2019, when I took a little time just to put it together and write a few little things. Then I forgot about it for a good while, distracted by the daily pull of a hectic life. It wasn’t until the world was upside down that I came back to it.
And what shook us to the ultimate down, after everything else, was the murder of George Floyd.
It seemed America was just getting “used” to living in a global pandemic, though we didn’t know how much longer we would be. We were used to the President’s antics too. We were even used to news stories of Black Americans being shot by police. But after so much of it, in the midst of what we were already suffering, when Derek Chauvin took the life of George Floyd before our very eyes, we cracked.
Last June was what got me writing regularly again. And it was the pandemic and the post-Floyd hysteria that did it for me. Despite the utter shame of this man’s murder, despite how many people were willing to brave disease to shout out against it, it seemed so many people still needed to open their eyes to what was happening right in front of them. I wanted to see if I could help open them. So I wrote.
“Textbook” was the product. Now you can directly find it under Race in America, under the Issues menu. And yes, I write about race a lot. Because race accounts for a lot of what our country was built on, which affects everybody. This used to be easier to ignore, if one fancied themselves unaffected. But I don’t think it is anymore. And though some people will continue making that effort, they won’t do it inconspicuously. I think that’s a very good thing.
If you’re not sure what exactly racism is, or what anti-racism is for that matter, obviously I think you should read it. And don’t feel bad about it. Because until last year, a lot of people in this country didn’t really get it. And now is not too late. We are not “irredeemable”.
Here’s what you may have missed this quarter.
The Best of Spring
It was actually a light and quiet one.
But I did get to the heart of our latest series, “The 2020 Twenty,” explaining in a little more depth just how it got here, and why I’m trying to get back.
Anika Noni Rose
I also addressed the rush of state legislative moves on girls playing sports.
In the latest “2020 Twenty” entry, earlier this month, I finally documented my much-anticipated trip to New Orleans! The trip marked another one-year milestone for me, and I was also thrilled to announce this entry was The Mauve Report’s 100th post!
The first one hundred posts have yielded nearly fifty mid to feature-length articles, seventeen of them serial. Sixteen of the first 100 articles (including #100 itself) can be found under Maude’s Choice–my personal favorites–the ones I had the most fun writing, was most proud of, or just enjoyed the most. But from the first sixteen, that list will grow longer! Of course, all of those favorite articles, and others, end up right here in the Mauve Quarterly.
I do have a new favorite kind of article though. Our first contributing writer has landed! This month we were pleased to introduce Ginger, a middle of the road woman living in the middle of the United States. (But don’t let that fool you.) In her debut piece, she writes about her quest to help others find their faith, by first finding her own. We’re hoping she’ll write for us much more, and we’re also hoping she’ll encourage you to do so as well. But more on that later!
Because it was a “light” quarter, (though “heavy” on “The 2020 Twenty”–heh) news sources weren’t used in quantities as large as what we’re used to. However, we still added several interesting new ones! Our most used sources this spring were: CNN and USA Today, ABC, CBS, and local sources, the New York Times, and Reuters. I also used some great content from Muscle and Fitness, and News Nation. As usual, you can find where I used these sources, either searching by category or locating them under the American Media menu. But our star source this spring was the Stevens Point Journal, for their coverage of Asian-Americans in Wisconsin dealing with racism, in the wake of COVID-19.
It is so important to us that we get good reporting from as close to the source as possible, on issues affecting Americans across the country.
The only thing more exciting is when we hear from Mauve Report readers.
How to Reach The Mauve Report
We’re always thrilled to hear from readers who want to share their American experiences and perspectives–voices!–whether they’re responding to something we’ve published or sharing something of their own. Original written pieces, commentary, photography, and art are more than welcome, and no professional experience is necessary. You can easily Write to Us! to send commentary or questions. You can send original pieces to Maude@mauvereport.com. And you can respond to contributors’ pieces at contributors@mauvereport.com, or just go ahead and submit your own! Have a look at our Submission Guidelines and the Mauve Mission. You can view previous readers’ responses under Contributors and Commentary. If you have any questions, just let us know!
Also, don’t forget The Mauve Report is now on Facebook! You can like and follow us there, contact me (Maude) there, and see all Mauve Report articles as they’re published, plus some extra stuff from some of our favorite sources. Subscribe here, follow there, whatever you want to do, we’re pretty easy to find (if you’re looking)!
This Summer
So for the rest of the summer . . . some things we’ll be talking about: vaccines and variants, kids and teachers going back to school (we’ll wait a little longer on that), COVID weight loss (of course! Well, hopefully.), the post-Ginsburg Supreme Court, the “post-COVID” economy, police resignations, and Derek Chauvin’s sentencing, which is actually happening today. But also: PRIDE 2021! Because the sun is out! It just can’t be dark all the time.
In September, The Mauve Report will celebrate its first birthday. Definitely come back for that! In the meantime, have a wonderful summer.
June 25, 2021