Compelled to respond to the pervasive grief that the pandemic has left and continues to leave in its relentless wake, we invited people around the world to pause for one day and reflect on the losses and sorrows they’ve experienced. We also wanted our varied offerings to provide comfort, courage, and inspiration. We chose the date of January 10, because January 11, 2020 was the day when a 61-year old man from Wuhan, China was the first person whose death was officially attributed to the disease that became known as Covid-19.
Weller and actress-activist Dr. Marty K. Casey, founder of UnGUN Institute, which helps Black youth heal from violence, discussed the ways in which the pandemic has affected them personally and their communities, and each emphasized the importance of accepting sorrow so that we can move through it. Weller identified himself as “an advocate of grief,” since sorrow, when it remains unexpressed, stifles creativity and compassion as well as more painful feelings. “When we live in denial, the grief lives louder in our heads,” said Casey.
The discussion concluded with suggestions for how participants could spend the day with family and friends, commemorating the people, opportunities, and daily pleasures that they have missed during the past hard year. Participants could also choose to join online “sharing circles,” small breakout groups in which they were able to articulate the challenges they’ve faced. People who had never met one another in person spoke openly and often tearfully about the loss of a spouse, the inability to visit an aging mother, and the stress of managing daily schedules with school children and working parents at home all day.
After the time for individual observances of mourning Artley Skenandore, an educator and tribal leader of the Oneida Nation, presented a ceremony of condolence, which he renamed an Encouragement Ceremony, since, he said, “Everyone needs some encouragement these days.” He spoke of the importance of community in times of grief and of recognizing that when we are able to dry our tears, we can again step forth into life by making bright new footprints. The Day of Mourning ended with a moving meditation from grief to joy led by Sommer Joy Ramer, followed by a DJ’d dance led by Daryl Henderson. The dance, which was featured live on Facebook and on Zoom, brought people to their feet to move, as if together, into exuberant, playful expressions of life .
You can watch the discussion with Francis and Marty, the ceremony by Artley, and the dance on our Facebook page (scroll down to the videos for January 10).
