I was using a lot of found car parts when I made these. I didn’t tell my teacher exactly what was on my mind about them— and I think when making these, it was the first spark of wanting to write I had had for years—the beginnings of things I ended up writing later. But I had forgotten about these. These had, for me, the image (image meaning, mental image) of someone killed in a car crash, of hair sprawled along asphalt, or of someone eaten by a car, or… idk. Something violent but also not quite. I think I say car crash etc because those are the most sense-making ways to combine the sprawling patterns of hair and the pieces of car swooshing around in my mind… but I didn’t think of these as symbols of violence…hmm.

The police ruled it a suicide. The family and local community demanded an investigation. The police refused to change their ruling.

Juliana Nzita, A 16 year old Black girl, was just found hanging from a tree on church grounds in Charlotte, NC. Police have ruled it a suicide, despite hanging ourselves from trees being like the one communally agreed way Black folks ain’t killing ourselves.

Every time I go on Twitter or Facebook I learn about another recent lynching or missing Black person going mostly unreported. Half the reason I keep an active account on either of those sites is because they’re the only place I can find out about the violence happening to Black and Trans people reasonably quickly.

To’Nea Nicole Miller, Justice Kai James, and Jerard “Jay” Jackson have all been found hanging from trees this year alone, and have all had their cases ruled a suicide by the police. Just a few days ago another (currently unidentified) Black woman was found hanging from a tree in Jackson Mississippi, although the police havent ruled it a suicide yet.

TRAVIS COUNTY, Texas (KXAN) — A Houston man faces a criminal case in Travis County for, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety, threatening the Governor’s Office over a law the man allegedly said prevented him from watching an anime. Joseph Roy Ozment, 35, faces one third-degree felony count of terroristic threat against a public servant. KXAN has reached out to his court-appointed counsel for comment. According to an affidavit written by a DPS special agent, Ozment allegedly called the Governor’s Office on the afternoon of July 25. DPS claims Ozment left the following voicemail (KXAN has redacted the profanity in the transcript provided by DPS): “I don’t know which one of you sons of b—-es passed this motherf—ing bill to get this damn s— blocking my motherf—ing anime, but you whole a– motherf—ers need to unpass this s—. Y’all are f—ing ridiculous with your b—- a–es. My Google account says I’m f—ing over the age of 18, and your dumba– is passing these dumba– laws. I’m a f—ing stab every godd— one of you b—-es. Unlock my f—ing anime.”