Mother Baltimore: Longing for love
I was a late bloomer to becoming a fan of bell hooks and being invested in her work. My impulse to read more about her came in the summer of 2020, when I felt like I needed to feel love, to know love, to give love. Her seminal 2000 text “All About Love: New Visions” became my compass for understanding how to love and defining what it is.
When I heard about her passing on Wednesday, at the age of 69, I had the urge to read the book again to feel closer to her words and thoughts. I wondered if she’d ever experienced the love she wrote about and inspired so many to engage with. In the preface of the novel, she writes.
“We can never go back. I know that now. We can go forward. We can find the love our hearts long for, but not until we let go grief about the love we lost long ago, when we were little and had no voice to speak the heart’s longing.”
I hope bell hooks received the love she was longing for before she died.
Now, here’s the latest news in southwestern Illinois:
Here are the names of the people who died after a tornado struck Edwardsville Amazon warehouse
Six people died while working at an Edwardsville Amazon site on Friday after a tornado hit the area. One was a mother of a toddler, one was a St. Louis native, one was an army veteran, one was a former college hockey player, one was a navy veteran and one was a grandfather. Since Friday, the BND staff has covered their stories and the aftermath of the tornado.
More on the tornado in Edwardsville:
Here’s what we know about the path of the Edwardsville tornado, its size and damages
Civil rights attorney to represent family of Edwardsville tornado victim
‘An abundance of caution’: East St. Louis schools locked down after fights, threat
On Tuesday, East St. Louis School District 189 was put on a soft lockdown after fights at East St. Louis Senior High School and a social media post that threatened gun violence against the district. Although the threat was not deemed credible, East St. Louis Police and Illinois State Police are investigating the situation.
More on East St. Louis School District 189:
Teachers in East St. Louis School District 189 have a new contract. Here are the details.
Some East St. Louis parents demand schools provide remote learning due to covid cases
East St. Louis hosts its first tree lighting ceremony, hints at new developments
East St. Louis celebrated the holiday season with an inaugural tree lighting ceremony earlier this month. Residents and city leaders viewed the historic occasion as the beginning of a new era in East St. Louis:
“This tree lighting ceremony is right in the footprint of our city. This is going to be a light, like a lantern, a lighthouse that’s getting ready to be displayed right here, of the newness, in East St. Louis,” East St. Louis Mayor Robert Eastern III said.
More on events East St. Louis
East St. Louis leaders and residents celebrate first Christmas tree lighting ceremony
East St. Louis is honoring late football phenom with a parade and special day on Monday
What to do
This is a new section of Mother Baltimore that’ll highlight upcoming events in the metro-east that’s relevant to Black communities. If you have tips for events, send them to dsutgrey@bnd.com
Touchette Bicycle Food Mission
1 p.m. on Thursdays at Touchette Regional Hospital
Every Thursday, volunteers and staff with Touchette Regional Hospital prep and deliver meals in the community’s food deserts, specifically Washington Park, East St. Louis and Cahokia Heights. The mission, which was formed last year, stops at six housing communities, five trailer communities, one homeless shelter and families and individuals in need. For more information, click here
What to watch
South Side
Set in the Englewood neighborhood of Chicago, South Side follows the journey of two friends who work at a rent-to-own company but strive to take on the world with their unrelenting ambition and a host of friends they encounter along the way. The beauty of South Side is how it comically depicts the nuances of Black culture in a neighborhood that’s only viewed through the lens of crime. On South Side, Black Chicago reigns supreme. The first two seasons of the series are available to stream on HBO Max.
What to read
‘A fun-house portrait of Black life on South Side’
Speaking of South Side, Doreen St. Félix wrote about the laugh-out-loud comedy being created by and for Black people:
“The fun and the farce are pitched to please Black American audiences. You either get the references—to primping culture, to funeral culture—or you don’t. Such gleeful specificity is a rarity, and so, after the first seasons of ‘South Side’ and ‘Sherman’s Showcase,’ fans steeled themselves for the shows to enter the hallowed bin of single-season greats.”
That’s all she wrote!
Talk to y’all in two weeks!
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This story was originally published December 17, 2021 at 1:45 PM.
