This past week, I have been piecing together flower blocks for my fall breeze quilt. It was exciting to see all the pieces starting to look like blossoms. This process took longer than I had originally planned, but rather than trying to finish them in a sitting, I began to finish as many as I could as the days allowed. By the second day, I had found my rhythm and practiced nesting the seams of each block.

It was bittersweet working on these blocks because I kept thinking about Ma’Khia Bryant and her death. The more I learned about her death, the more I was reminded of how much we settle and hide behind what is legal. If we collectively stopped settling, we could find a solution that would mean Ma’Khia and everyone in the fight would be alive today. Right now, we can’t do anything to bring back 16 year old Ma’Khia, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t do something to protect another life, especially in the Black community when they are disportionately targeted and killed by the police system.

Although I may not know how we can find a way to reliably stop lethal force using non-lethal force, that doesn’t mean I am going to stop searching for the answer because I do not want to settle for anything less. If you have any resources that you recommend for someone wanting to learn more about police reform and abolishment, please direct message me on my instagram, Mayra’s Creaciones.