Saving Ruby King

by Catherine Adel West

Rebellion even in its smallest forms can eventually birth great change. With change comes hope. So, for now, letting the dishes rot in the sink gives me some small satisfaction.

Sometimes I think I’ve had enough worship for this lifetime and the next one. The one after that, too. Other times, when I struggle like I do now, I simply talk to God, no need to kneel or quote scripture or be all formal, just talk, and despite all my shortcomings, I know He’s there and He hears me and I have hope.

There’s no ointment or prayer that can heal mean. No one to deliver me like the fairy tales in storybooks or churches. We look to others to save us and we must save ourselves.

Black people don’t trust the law because there is no accountability for when the law fails us.

Invisible lines dissected black lives from white ones, and these lines were intentional and political and created with clear meaning. The unspoken rules and written laws define these boundaries.

Tim believes in the good of people. I’m more of the James Baldwin school: “I can’t believe what you say, because I see what you do.”

What’s the saying? You have to be twice as good to get half as much. I don’t know if that’s even true. I just started working with that mentality and never let up.