Inspiration
Dana’s Edit: See Me—Not Just What I Knit
I thought about not writing my column this month. I haven’t been on Ravelry and my want to knit has been low. My want to share has been even lower. In the midst of this pandemic, between sheltering at home, the protests and the killings of Black people in the news, I just haven’t felt like sharing much of anything. So before you keep reading, just know that this post won’t contain any knitting patterns. I simply can’t just get back to knitting.
Many of you were first introduced to me on this site when Kay interviewed me after seeing my matching dog sweaters on Instagram. So many people have ooh’d and aww’d over the cuteness and have told me how much they anticipate my annual hand knit holiday cards with my husband. Lately, with everything going on in the news, I’ve been thinking, as much as people love my photos and tell me just how cute my husband is, if you saw him walking in Central Park wearing one of his hand knit sweaters and he asked you to put your dog on a leash—would you threaten to call the police on him and tell him he’s threatening you when he’s not? Like what happened to Christian Cooper. If you saw him going for a run in your neighborhood, would he get gunned down like Ahmaud Arbery? For as much love and support I get online about my knitting, if I was murdered in my own home while I slept like Breonna Taylor, would you demand justice for me? Or would you just keep knitting?
When I started blogging on Yards of Happiness five years ago, I did it because I didn’t see a lot of faces like mine talking about knitting. I’ll be honest, whenever I searched for things about knitting, Mason-Dixon Knitting always came to the top of my Google search, but the name Mason-Dixon always felt like a punch to the gut. To me, Mason-Dixon reminded me of slave states versus free states, a time when Black people were considered property and not people. My first thought is not about the space between Ann and Kay, who loved to knit. I’m not offended by the name but from where I sat, it was a bit off putting at first. I didn’t know what I was going to get going to that site. Eventually, I stopped looking at the name and focused on what their site was doing and I found that I had a place there. Just like with my site, I found a place where I hoped I could be seen.
I’m asking during this time of unrest in our country, when I cannot find the calm in knitting I once used to, for you to take a look at me. I want you to see ME. I am a Black woman filled with fear, sadness, and frustration right now at how white supremacy is still holding this nation back. When I say white supremacy, I’m talking about how this nation was founded on principles that said all men are created equal—but that didn’t include Black men or women. All of our laws, policies, and the very foundation we are built on is based off of those principles and they still make an impact to this day. White supremacy is the difference between peaceful protestors being met with rubber bullets and tear gas versus protestors openly carrying guns demanding that cities open in a pandemic and being met with silence and no response from police.
See me. See what I’m grappling with, see what I’m struggling with, and take the time out to learn. Get a broader view of history, read about race and have those difficult conversations with family and friends. See me and acknowledge that my pain is real. See me, and not just what I knit.
And maybe, just maybe I’ll be able to get back to knitting.
I see you, I hear you, I support you. Thank you for this column. Stay safe and be well.
Dana-May you know I will stand beside you, behind you, or in front of you, whichever you want or need ANYTIME, ANYWHERE you are my sister on this planet. I will fight for you, I will catch you, I will see YOU, and I will listen.
Dear Dana,
Thank you for writing these words. As a white woman, please know how sorry I am for these racist, violent events occurring once again. I profoundly apologize for not seeing, not saying, not doing enough to help raise consciousness and help heal what needs healing in my life experience. These cruel events, once again, manifest white privilege in every societal institution—and continue to cause such sadness and pain.
Yes—you are seen, and heard. Deeply so. My heart breaks as I watch the news videos showing brutal police force used against innocent men and peaceful protestors. Am hoping these horrific events are bringing still concealed areas of racism to the surface of everyone’s consciousness, once again, so they can be seen and peacefully reconciled. I was present in the 1960’s and have seen such great change take place over the decades; however, much more remains to be done. The core belief in equality for all is still very alive!
I believe real change is taking place in a way not seen before.
You are not alone.
✨✨
Dana,
I see you.
Yes, your verve, happiness, and love of colour in knitting, and, of course Jellybean, were first what attracted me to you. I started to follow your blog, and started to see more than just the knitter. A woman juggling many roles: family, school, work, knitting, pet owning and more.
But more recently, like me, needing soothing knitting.
But more recently, not like me, worried for my family simply because of their skin colour.
I see you now even more, and you have opened my eyes more and I will keep listening, and working to and for change.
Hoping you can find some hope and peace.
Dear Dana, ❤️ I’ll carry this definition forward:
“ White supremacy is the difference between peaceful protestors being met with rubber bullets and tear gas versus protestors openly carrying guns demanding that cities open in a pandemic and being met with silence and no response from police.”
What a stupid thing to say! “Peaceful protests”! Are we talking about the ones where they burned businesses and looted stores, those “peaceful protests”? But I guess that’s ok, because those looters were black so they were just “protesting systemic racism”, right? No need to call police of those peace loving souls… Btw, remember when gun-carrying protesters that demanded to come back to work, so they can support their families, looted stores and burned cars? Yeah, me neither…May that be the reason they were allowed to proceed? Just a thought.. Not that I believe that you are capable of logical thinking.. Brainwashed zombies rarely are
Where were peaceful protestors met with rubber bullets? Where were peaceful protestors met with police violence of any kind?
This happened in DC – https://www.npr.org/2020/06/29/884609432/scared-confused-and-angry-protester-testifies-about-lafayette-park-removal
“ They got very close to us in a threatening kind of way,” McDonald said of the Park Police. “They gave no instructions and [it was just] a show of force. We stood our ground. We told them we were peaceful we wanted no trouble. We were met with silence. At no time did I hear any instructions to move, and if we did hear instructions, I would have moved.”
McDonald recounted the panic that took over the demonstrators as police began to advance and deploy the use of tear gas and batons.”
Hello Emily, Detroit Police shot peaceful protesters with rubber bullets: https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/wayne/2020/06/20/police-officer-suspended-rubber-bullets-protests/3231371001/ Police violence made international news: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/jun/06/police-violence-protests-us-george-floyd
Just a few examples: They have driven cars into the crowds: https://twitter.com/stevemullis/status/1266979219566989313 They have surrounded a car and tased the people inside it, for no reason: https://twitter.com/imactuallynina/status/1266912627193774080 They have attacked elderly bystanders https://twitter.com/bubbaprog/status/1266908354821206016
This happened in Texas:
https://www.texastribune.org/2020/06/03/texas-police-force-protests-george-floyd/
Yes, as will I.
I will also, so true
Thank you…
So well said. Thank you.
I see you, Dana. Thank you for your honesty.
As a white. British woman I am very aware of the more shamful episodes in our shared history. I can never walk in your shoes, but I can walk alongside you. And I see YOU, always. At the moment I am knitting miles of soothing garter stitch, because my mind and heart cannot cope with anything else. But it is helping me find a little peace in the madness. I hope that soon you will find some measure of peace too. Until then, take care of yourself and all those you love <3
Beautifully written … I’m in tears.
Thank you.
From England, I see you Dana and I’ll take your beautiful and moving message forward.
Julia x
From Australia, may we (white people) stop talking, listen and learn. Thank you.
I see you, Dana.
We can do better to recognize the insidious conditioning we have been subject too—recognize it, acknowledge it, call it out in ourselves and not pass it on to the next generation. It is our responsibility to be courageous and continue our pursuit of the happiness and justice promised by our Constituion.
I love “call it out in ourselves and not pass it in to the next generation”.
Amen
So well said. Thank you.
Thank you for writing this.
I see all people of all color who are mistreated and abused by police officers. Even during simple peaceful protesting, its happening over and over again and again. When will it stop? Maybe never. We can only hope.
Black people are overwhelmingly killed by police officers in numbers that far outweigh their numbers of the population. When you say “I see people of all color(s)”, you’re diminishing the importance in this moment of the violence that has been visited upon Black people by White supremacy. White people aren’t being killed in their beds, or while out jogging. Hope is important, but action is far more so.
Thank you for sharing! You said it better than me because I get agitated when I think about the way we as a race are ‘held back’ because of institutional racism. We will get our knitting mojo back in due time. I’m still grieving!
((( hugs ))))
Dana, well said, and my heart hurts with you. Alas, I believe the depth and toxicity of America’s “slavery” mentality will take a very long time to root out. As with women and equal rights, the fight must continue every day until change has been made and the new behavior becomes the norm. We have a long way to go.
I see you, Dana. And I see women like Atatiana Jefferson who lived less than 20 miles from me here in Fort Worth who was only looking out her window when she was shot by police. I still cannot fathom it. Our the black woman who was sentenced to 5 years in prison for lying about the school district she lived in so Her daughter could go to a good school and have a better education and life. This contrasts with the wealthy white celebrities sentenced to a few weeks or months for paying thousands of dollars and falsified their children’s abilities so they could go to an elite college, which won’t change their lives in the slightest. I want to understand in my heart and souls all the ways in which my whiteness privileges me and end it. I want to end the man-made concept of race. Thank you for being you in this world and sharing this post.
Thank you Dana for being willing and brave in sharing your perspective and feelings. It Will make a difference in many lives. I’m also seconding Partricia’s wanting the end of the “man-made” concept of race. I have been saddened for many years at how, when we fill out almost any form, we have to check a box for the color of our skin. I understand the thinking behind it, that it may help in equalizing things, but just hate that it is necessary.
I see you, Dana. I’m listening.
Thank you.
Dana, thank you.
I see you & I am listening. Thank you for speaking out. ❤️
❤️
Thank you for writing this. I see you. Be well.
I see you, Dana. Thank you for communicating your pain, fears, and perspective. Thank you for reminding us that this dialogue needs to be present and ongoing in each and every community we are a part of, even online knitting ones!
I see you, Dana, and hear you. You and your words matter. As white, elder woman, my life started with segregation the norm. I can’t know what it is like to be a black American. Thus, I must listen to those who do, ask questions, reflect on my ongoing learning, and change me accordingly.
But not stop there. Then act in my community to foment change here.
Thank you…and MDK for being wise Guides in this horrifying time. I can barely knit either…
I see you. I hear you. I am white and had similar feelings about the MDK name when I first saw it (sorry MDK). There is so much in our country that needs to change and #1 is the color divide. It’s needs to stop. It’s an absolute outrage that it’s still happening 250 years later. Fuck that shit.
You read my mind. Well intentioned cuteness can still really hurt. It all has to be acknowledged and then stopped.
Hi Dana,
Thank you for putting into words something that I think a lot of black knitters have been struggling with recently. I too was suffering from an apathy towards knitting, and I could not pinpoint why until I saw your column. I might be safely sheltering in place in my flat in London, but I have family in the states who are judged every day for the color of their skin not the content of their character. That is a scary reality for people of color and we can’t just knit and hope that it gets better. Hopefully this latest wave of the civil rights movement brings about change so that living while black is no longer a liability if you come across the wrong person.
I also was put off by the name of the blog, and it took you appearing on the blog with your column for me to feel comfortable exploring the website and seeing that despite the name the website is very welcoming and a good resource for knitters.
Thank you for being a reminder that not all knitters are 85 year old white grandmothers, and that there are a lot of talented black women who knit and love to talk about knitting among all of the things in their busy lives. I am normally the only black knitter or crocheter if I go to a crafting group, and its nice to know that I am not alone.
~Amy
Thank you Amy, and Dana as well, for what you are saying and expressing. I am glad you feel safe in London, but I am a big fan of Ben Aaronovitch’s “Rivers of London“ books, and I remember the main character Peter Grant, a young black detective, saying that even if another man was uncomfortable around him, if he was willing to shake hands, then things would probably be ok.
That struck me. Discomfort can be got over, with togetherness. And Dana’s fear for her husband is so real, and the danger is as well. Thank you both for saying these things.
And thanks also to several of the black men in my life who have made a difference. Willie Lennear, class of ‘72, a star football player who was willing to help this sophomore with her math struggles in study hall. Carl Jackson, a fellow designer at Fluor Corp in Irvine ‘81-‘83, one of the biggest Star Trek fans ever. And Larry Johnson, ‘82-‘84, one of the better housemates I’ve ever had, who “woke” me to the issues facing young black men, even if they were well-educated, liked jazz and tennis and bicycle racing and wanted a career in foreign relations. Including being arrested for walking on the street with a friend’s loaner tv in his arms. Thanks to Steve for getting him freed.
My thanks and my sympathies.
I see you. Thank you.
I had the same thoughts about the name but read regularly now because of you!!! Thank you so much for your thoughtful post.
Thank you. You just voiced my sentiments as well as a black woman (born in Ghana), I have felt “very alone” when I have walked into LYS and even craft shows. Who is cutting onions over here?
Thank you. I see you & I want to see you. I hear you & I want to hear you. ❤️
Thank you for writing through your pain. Thank you for sharing with us. I see you. And I pledge to do whatever I can to help facilitate the change. As a white woman in my late 60’s I have been struck again and again by the failure of our generation to accomplish what we set out to do in the 60’s. I hope that Sweet Gianna’s words- “My Daddy changed the world” are prophetic.
Well said, thank you.
If you design an anti-racism sweater I will knit again. And I will wear it with pride. ❤️
There are MANY of us white women in this age group who feel the same. Our role in this fight is clear. We have to continue the work. I love this: “I can’t believe I’m still protesting this shit.” Yeah, we are. We need to get busy.
Thank you for your words that surly resonate with many.
Exactly.
I am still knitting but I am mostly unable to read anything. But when I saw your name and your picture here this morning I decided to read what you have to say. I’m glad I did. Thank you for writing.
Hi Dana,
Thank you so much for your heartfelt words. I too had a negative reaction to the Modern Daily name, but now it is my favorite knit spot. I am listening. I am studying. I am feeling. Know that you are loved not just because of the color of your skin but also the content of your character. I will keep fighting so that one day (I pray) your fear will ebb.
Thank you.
Thank you, Dana – beautifully said. And I’m glad you mentioned feeling put off by the Modern Daily name; I had a similar reaction to it (although I love the blog, and that’s where I first read about you). I do indeed see you, and appreciate you more than I can say. I’m a bit of a pessimist, and reading your blog and watching your videos invariably brighten my life.
Thank you for sharing so personally during this incredibly important time. Maybe part of your answer is in your art. Design a sweater, throw, scarf or ??? that is definitive of this agony. Maybe we will find some answers also in your passion. You have so many gifts.
Thank you. You are an important voice.
Thank you, Dana.
Thank you Dana. I see you. I’m here for you.
Thank you, Dana. We learn when we stop and listen. On the radio this morning I heard from a 15 year old who was sharing her protesting experience. She shared that the system is broken. It was built this way. Together, we need to build a better system where everyone is at the table. Your voice, your story urges us to be a part of making a better world. I’m listening. Thank you for being you.
Thank you for being you and for what you do x
Beautiful article. Thank you!
Thank you. Don’t stop Dana, and don’t stop MDK. I’m going back to do my study. No excuses about how I can’t focus. Thanks for all the signposts on resources too.
Thank you, from the U.K.
“White supremacy is the difference between peaceful protestors being met with rubber bullets and tear gas versus protestors openly carrying guns demanding that cities open in a pandemic and being met with silence and no response from police.”
Thank you, Dana.
This quote encapsulated so much for me as well. It will be another tool in my arsenal when I talk to fellow white people who want to argue with the fact that we live in a white supremacist society.
Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Thank you.
I see you. I hear you. IT IS TIME for mankind to step up and say ENOUGH!!!!! Thank you for your words from your heart.
I see you. And I will keep you in my heart and keep learning.
❤
I see you through my tears.
Thank you for sharing.
Taking a seat to listen. Thank you.
Thank you, Dana, for putting another face, adding another story, to this ugly reality of racism. I see you and appreciate that you took the time and expended the energy to share this. You must be exhausted. Thank you again. ❤️
Thank you Dana. I see you and appreciate you sharing your feelings.
I see you, and I love to see you! Thank you for your post, it goes straight to my heart. I understand your feelings, and I have thought a lot about what happend in your country during the last days. First time I saw you on this site in your awesome sweaters, I felt relief and happiness because I had this unease for years that all knitting women online and the models in my knitting magazines looked like me – white. That does not reflect what I see around me – in work, and sports, I am surrounded by people from all over the world and with every shade of pink or brown skin, and that is a real treasure. Keep on posting and hopefully get back to knitting soon! Love and hugs from Germany – Kirsten
Wow, Dana. Thanks for pointing out to me something my ingrained white privilege never even allowed me to put together: how a group of peaceful ARMED white men can hold a protest without being tear-gassed or fired on, but a group of peaceful UNARMED black people, including women and children are met with police in riot gear, beaten, tear-gassed and fired on with rubber bullets. The dichotomy is glaring, and shameful. Obviously, the concept of innocent until proven guilty depends on the color of one’s skin.
This is beautifully written and captures our national crisis in a way that puts real faces on real people. Dana has moved me to tears which I will use to do what I can to show that I see Dana.
Blackout Tuesday Knit Out?
I drove by a protest by a crowd of white teenagers yesterday in a very white area. They had the right idea, they were standing up against their parents status quo, hold onto your white privilege mantra. We all need to stand up.
Thank you
May I share this on another FB page that might benefit fro my our words?
Thank you, Dana. I see you and I hear your fear and despair. I live in New Hampshire. My local yarn shop is doing curb side pickup and mail orders only with daily emails offering a pattern and a select yarn. A few days ago she said all that day’s profits would go to the Legal Defense Fund of the NAACP. She is white as, I suspect, are most of her customers. She sold out all the yarn and sent $700, a supportive response and a large sum for a small shop trying to stay open. We are out here. We are horrified by the racism, the police brutality towards black men — and women too. MDK gave us many good suggestions on what to do. Do you have any more for us?
Thank you. I see you and I’m listening to you and others. My reading list is overwhelming, but necessary.
(I, too, was put off by the name, MDK, and found a welcome surprise when I started reading the non-knitting articles.)
Seeing you. Well said.
I See you Dana!
I am a Finnish woman born in Sweden and I see you , I see all of you. Please continue to knit, don´t let anyone take away your joy. Be strong, the world needs people like you. Me and my friends are knitting babyhats for the Panzi hospital in Kongo , Dr Mukweges hospital.
Be safe.
Hey Dana. This was a really insightful post and I’m so glad you took the time to write it. Thank you for extending to the knitting community the gift of your time. It’s a precious thing that we all have and how we choose to use our moments will impact ourselves and many others, for eternity. I share your struggle but in a different way: my late dad was a Black American and my mom is White (capital or no?). As a child in the 1980’s, sometimes Black women would tell me, “you could pass”, as white. But that always confused me a little. Why would I want to pass? What is wrong with looking Black, or mixed race? Well I have part of that answer in my middle age of life; I could be offered different, better opportunities because my skin color is lighter. I could be treated with more respect. I could be accepted as “one of them”. That is utterly heartbreaking because I want to be seen for who I am. I think I see you Dana, I think I see a tiny bit of what you have to walk through every minute of every day. Our moments are precious and again, thank you for sharing yours.
Thank you for this message Dana .
I see you and hear you Dana. I share your pain, and thank you for sharing your feelings with us!
I am from Europe, and I know there is racism there too, but the levels of racism and brutality I have seen here make my heart shrink. When I arrived to this country 15 years ago, i was asked about my race for the first time in my life (mid 30s back then)
I was very naive back then, and I didn’t see many things, but over the years I have learned that the US has written in its Constitution something that doesn’t correspond with its reality. We need justice, as promised.
We all are equal. We all matter. We all have ( should have/ must have) the same respect/rights from our fellow human beings.
I see you…..
Thank you, Dana, for having the courage to write this post. When I first saw the name Modern Daily it was very off-putting to me too because of the images It conjures up – and I am white. A southern white so I come with a lot of family baggage. Change is long overdue and it will only fully come about by our actions. Let’s pledge to each help make change happen, okay knitters?
Thank you, Dana.
Thank you for sharing your feelings. They truly hit home in a powerful way. I see you…a beautiful woman wearing beautiful knitting in bright colors that reflect a beautiful soul. I cannot express in words how much recent events have affected me, esp as someone who lives in the Twin Cities. I may be old and white, but I know what’s right.
Thank you for this. I see you, and hear you, with appreciation and gratitude.
I see a beautiful and brave lady who inspires me daily in knitting and life in general. Your honesty and insight reaches me. Please know you make a difference in all our worlds.
Your words make me weep and want to do something that can make a difference. Where to start?
I see you I hear your pain. I can’t begin to understand the horror that continues, the need for some to show dominance and inflict pain and death on another human. It has been said that those who do not remember the past are doomed to repeat it and here we still are. I pray for you and all of us that we will become better, kinder, gentler people who accept all races, religions, and creeds. People who embrace our similarities and differences. Thank you for your message, it has resonated with me and God Bless you
I see you, i am sorry for your pain and fear. I will do better, listen, read, talk and act.
Thank you, Dana, for your kindness, generosity, bravery, patience. I never even considered the hidden offensiveness of the name of this blog (much as I love and appreciate it, and Ann and Kay as well) which puts the issue in a nutshell for me, a privileged white 63 year old woman. This simple, difficult letter you wrote is one I will remember.
Thank you for your vulnerability and sharing of yourself. Thank you. I hear your words, my heart aches. I will keep listening and supporting the POC around me.
Thank you Dana,for sharing your pain.
I cannot know that pain,I can only hold you and many others in my heart and hope that love comes shining thru.
Please let your light shine on thru your pain, talents and gifts of creativity are a reckoning force in a world of violence and hate.
Thank you, Dana, for sharing your feelings and your story. I, too, was apprehensive about Ann and Kay and the name of their site, Modern Daily. And like you, I got to know them and the site. I felt better. I don’t feel better now – I cannot make up for all the injustices, criminality, and sorrows laid on people of color. But I can be anti-racist, anti-colonialist and anti-fascist. My love to you and hope you will knit again.
Thank you for your frankness. As a very privileged white woman, I appreciate learning. I am reading, studying and trying to learn what I can do personally to be part of the solution. Thank you.
Thank you. I see you. I hear you. I will listen and learn and I will do better. We all have to.
I see you Dana. I do demand justice for you. I hope our support will buoy you up as we all work for this change.
I see you.
I see you and I hear you, I will continue to see and to listen carefully. Sending love to you ve to you.
Dana, thank you for your candid and poignant letter. Our hearts are breaking with yours and we would do anything to comfort you and make this less painful. As a white woman, I cannot pretend to understand what it feels like to face the inequities that you experience. But, I want you to know that I stand with you and I am working to make a change – not just today and these few weeks where this is in the forefront of our news – but permanently. We love you!
Thank you. I know you might not be able to hear this now but please don’t stop knitting! We need you. I need you. You inspire me.
Thank you.
Thank you for sharing. I feel your pain. I see you. I hear you. ❤
When I see your posts, I see a beautiful smile, a happy wife, and a wall full of pictures of joyful people. That there is so much pain and fear behind those smiles is a national disgrace. I am so happy that you have a voice here on MDK, a means to represent Black makers, and a space to share your creativity (and your Bean!) with all of us.
I see you Dana. (I also was put off by the name Modern Daily, but happy to find this place.)
I post the following not to toot my own horn, or to sound self-righteous, but to offer a suggestion.
I hate the business of politics. I never wanted to be involved with it. We had an awful US congressman. Two years ago, I worked on the campaign for his opponent. I had a postcard party, I canvassed for him (with my adult sons, which was very cool.) this was something I never thought I’d do. It was my son’s idea and I went along with it. It was uncomfortable at times, but remains a fond memory.
The race was a toss up, but he won! He’s been a great congressman. Wrote this piece in the Washington Post this week.
https://delgado.house.gov/media/press-releases/delgado-op-ed-i-know-how-painful-racism-we-can-t-give-voting
This week his campaign called to see if I was interested in phone banking. I do not like getting phone calls about politics. I’m not fond of talking on the phone with people I don’t know. But I thought of the mess our country is in and decided I once again needed to step outside of my comfort zone to help make a difference. So I signed up.
There are so many ways we can make a difference and many of them are uncomfortable. This is the time to stretch ourselves. We need to see people and we need to listen. We also need to act. All of us, in any way we can. Some of those ways may (and probably should!) take us out of our comfort zone. Start small if you have to.
So look at the list of resources. Look around in your town, county, state. Find a way to help move this country forward. You can do it! WE can do it.
That must have been very tough to write. Thank you for writing it. For what it’s worth you have been one of my knitting inspirations.
You deserve better. It’s on us to make sure that happens. We hear you.
I see you, Dana. I love you❤️
Thank you and I see you
Powerful statement. I have shared this with my church knitting group and will share with my senior center group. We are in learn, pray, act mode and this is just the right message for us.
Thank you Dana for your beautiful and strong words. Thank you for being who you are. The fear, pain and sadness cuts to my core. I’ve found some reading and website recommendations to help me better understand; perhaps others can be shared here. Not only are we a community of knitters, but one of learners as well.
So good. So raw. We have to do the work of dismantling white supremacy. If we don’t seek justice for those oppressed we will never be the country we know that we can be
What a beautiful statement, Ashley.
Thank you, all of the voices.
Heartfelt appreciation to you, Dana, for your forthrightness and decision to share fear and pain. You are appreciated for all the work you put into inspiring the newly renamed MDK group. As one of many who look forward to seeing your work pop up, in both word and images, thank you again.
Thank you.
❤️❤️ Your posts are one of my favorite things about this community. I see you. Please knit again soon. It’s healing.
Thank you. I see you, and I hear you, and I appreciate your taking thetime to share. I live not far from the place where George Floyd was killed, and looking away, not seeing, is impossible now. Thank you for taking time to share, and to demand that we see.
I see you. I have taken the rug of my heart, picked it up, took it outside for a good cleaning. I understand that racism is so systematic that it requires each of us to clean the rugs of our heart. Grace and peace.
Thank you for being, for giving all of us your heart. I’ve tears (liquid) and tears (ripped apart) in my heart and soul. Growing up in So. Cal during the Watts Riots influenced my life. Watching with horror the struggles, and struggle with inequality that has been inflicted on all Black people. I see you, with my heart, with my eyes. Please, don’t let any of us fail you again.
Yes.
I was so proud of our country when we elected Obama, it felt like such an historical moment. The backlash has been staggering; the images I cannot get out of my head are the heavily armed white men protesting unimpeded versus unarmed peaceful demonstrators and journalists being shot at and gassed. I can never fully understand or feel like it is to be in your shoes, all I can do is listen, help in my community, and never let pass unenlightened comments such as “all lives matter” or “I am not privileged” without responding. Thank you for speaking, not all eyes and ears are open but I have to believe that everyday more of them are opening. We can do better.
thank you for sharing your thoughts with the rest of us. It is important for all of us to have voice, and acceptance – we must learn to accept each other’s diversity as that is what makes the human race a wonderful addition to the world. We can’t continue to see thru the lens of colour, religion, sex and nationality we need and must start to see thru the lens of one people sharing this vast planet with other living beings for this is what makes us stronger to weather the storms sent us by Mother Nature.
From my heart to your heart, may together we change hearts. Thank you for your words of truth.
Dana, I’m not sure that I “see” you but I’m open and I’m trying to wrap my mind around the subject. I’m trying to change my perspective about the topic. I’m a white woman of “a certain age” that grew up in a white, middle class, small town with no people of color. I’m talking to my friends and colleagues (now of all races) and seeking information and reading what I can find. But in no way can I fully get it. I think it’s a matter of walking a mile in your shoes. I think we are all trying to do that. Thank you for being you. I appreciate you.
I see you, and am listening to you. Thank you for taking the time to write this insightful article. Stay safe and well.
I am listening and listening king for you
And looking for you.
Thank you for sharing. I’m here, listening and standing beside you.
Promising to learn, listen to and SEE you.
❤ My heart aches. I promise I will always listen, learn, and reach out to try hard to make a difference.
I see you, hear you and hurt with you. I am reading, listening and confronting that which is in me that propagates conscious and unconscious racism. It’s hard work and painful but worth it. You are and have been an inspiration to many of us. Your knitting mojo will return but until then take strength from your knitting tribe. Your voice matters.
❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
Hi Dana. I have never walked a day in your shoes and can’t begin to comprehend what you have gone through. Just know that as a 68 year old white woman, I have always treated every person with dignity and respect, regardless of the color of their skin. I grew up with racist parents and I have never understood why whites think they are superior to anyone else. We took land from the Native Americans and basicallyincarderated them. We kidnapped African Americans from their native land and enslaved them. Not a good legacy. Perhaps with the world watching, as the life was taken from Mr. Floyd the we have finally arrived at a time for sustainable change. I pray to God the time is now.
Thank you, Dana.
I have tears flooding my eyes right now. That a person with a soul as beautiful as yours should be as hurt and sorrow-filled as you are is unconscionable. Please know that there are people who do care and do want to understand how to help make a difference. I can assure you that there was something far more fundamentally wrong with that woman freaking out over a simple request to leash a dog. I can also assure you that I for one would have been more inclined to ask him about the birds he was watching. I am not as assertive a person as I would like to be but I hope and pray that I would have the courage to speak up if I was witness to an episode of injustice. My heart is reaching out to you asking for your forgiveness and asking you to help us learn how to heal this rift.
Although I believe that you (and many other people posting) have the best intentions when you ask Dana for help, it just puts more stress and strain on her, as a Black person, to do “emotional labor.” Dana’s writing of this piece for MDK was already a huge gift to all of us with white privilege who are committed to learning and seeing how structural racism and brutality are experienced personally. I just googled “anti racism resources” and came up with this…
https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/antiracist_resources_from_greater_good
❤️
So true. Thanks for the resources.
Yes and good morning my dear,
I am crying tears of exhaustion as I write…
I was befuddled by the Modern Daily moniker, too.
Then I explored it and the women who created it and exhaled, because the information I hold in my black body said, “Now, hold on a minute.”
When the discussion broke open about race and knitters some months ago – I was not surprised (nor disappointed) at the sarcasm and plain nastiness that arose. I saw it as a reality check: I don’t ever need to caught off guard (anymore) by yet another white woman’s fear, ignorance, or straight up racism regardless of her ability to render yarn into masterpieces.
I’m not explaining myself or this country or Colin Kapernick to my white friends or colleagues ANYMORE: Read a book, go watch or read about Angela Davis, Nina Simone, the Dred Scott Decision, lynching in America and yes, Martin AND Malcolm X. Jesus, what is it going to take!
I decided to just ignore any staring/bewildered acting white knitters completely in retail spaces or my yoga studio: it’s TOO MUCH WORK AND I JUST WANT TO KNIT and BE HUMAN.
The irony of this pandemic “recess” was that it gave me a MUCH needed break from the SEVERAL (!!!) Amy Coopers in the elementary school where I work. – it’s amazing I still have a job, because of their self-perceived right – and attempts (I don’t EVER let them succeed) – to speak past me, over me, louder than me, when I’m engaging my students in the school which is 99% black and brown little beautiful babies.
I’m done.
I love myself too much to keep track, monitor, and explain this mess that happens on a daily basis:
I’m going to BREATHE and liberate my spirit even more in the names of Breonna, George, Trayyvon and my own life.
ENOUGH.
peace and love to you Dana
Peace period
Thank you very much for your comment and Dana’s clear and direct message. Words keep failing me this week, tears are flowing. Too many of us who were active in the 60s were not committed enough and settled into our lives thinking progress was being made. Now you are so right–what is it going to take!
…and the irony of “Modern Daily Knitting” is that by its digital and literary existence re-codes and daily works to dismantle the very elements that created the term Modern Daily.
Wonderfully said. Thank you for sharing.
Thank you, Dana. I see you and I hear you, and I am checking my white privilege at the door. I have two mixed-race grandsons, and am in fear for their lives and future. At this moment, in which I see a country continuing to support white supremacy, just as you said, I don’t have any words of hope. Agree with your take on “mason-dixon” as a term, too–I’m a New Englander living in the South, and lemme tell you, it was not an easy transition. Thank you again. I vow to get, and stay, in the solution.
Thank you Dana. Thank you for being you, for sharing your pain, for standing up for the much needed change. I see you. I support you.
Thank you for sharing your words and your spirit. I see you and I hear you.
I am having a terrible time writing this comment and writing is usually like breathing to me. Today I am taking my daughter to attend the Requiem for Black Children of God that my church is putting on with another family, who happen to be Latino. The African American owner of my daughter’s ballet studio might attend as well. Tomorrow my daughter is going to her studio’s outdoor (we are still in phase 1 here) ballet for peace class with the proceeds to benefit the Equal Justice Initiative. I want her to see and fight the injustice; I want her to still be able to believe that most people are good. It is something; it is not nearly enough. We live in a protected bubble by virtue of our race and that is, unfortunately, unlikely to change.
We have been invited to have a seat at the table in the African American community in so many wonderful ways – I live in NOLA where we do not generally live in single race silos – but know that this warm, welcoming community is so often shut out of the white community (my husband and I have ridden with Zulu but there are non-parading krewes here that are still White only). I delivered meals every day during the stay at home orders and the poverty experienced by many of my African American recipients was appalling as is the disproportionate number of African American death from the virus.
One thing I can suggest to readers who are white and do not see the effects of racism on a daily basis is to read what African American writers have to say. Men We Reaped might be an excellent place to start since Ward’s writing is powerful and accessible. I also hear good things about How to be an Antiracist but it seems to be on backorder everywhere. All Our Kin: Strategies for Survival in a Black Community is a classic and allows you to push back on the argument that Whites will sometimes make about “poor decision making” in less affluent Black communities.
Dana, please know that many of us care. I cannot pretend to imagine what it is like for my African American friends to send their husbands and sons out into the world every day but I know that the pain and frustration must be unbearable at times. I hear your cry even if my attempts to fix things are pathetic and often misguided. Thank you for letting us into your heart during such a painful time.
Thank you for sharing your very personal thoughts. I’ve despaired about racism along with climate change, abused children, our harmful food system…the list goes on. But now I finally see that if we would make eliminating racism our priority, other issues would fall into place.
Possibly other issues would not necessarily fall into place, but if we confront and deal with this huge elephant in the living room, racism, our minds would be oriented toward other justice issues: Climate, food security, clean air, etc.
Dana, I am committed to seeing, listening and learning.
Thank you! Beautifully said.
Hello dear Dana,
I am bi-racial, an avid knitter, and I cried when I read your words. It has always bothered me that in order to benefit from so much information that is beneficial to me as a knitter, that I have to “get past and get over” the name of the Modern Daily website. That in and of itself might seem a small thing in the light of all the terrible things that have happened to so many people, but THE SMALL THINGS ADD UP. Over a lifetime, the pain of having to accept living with them in order to do what you need and want to do to try to just be yourself! is soul trying. Debilitating. Exhausting. Know that your brave words and efforts are lauded and admired and inspirational. Peaceful knitting to you, dear friend!
Thank you.❤️
Thank you for writing this. It must not have been easy.
I believe the more people of color write about their experience the more we learn and are able to help heal this country. There is so much to do!
I listening and trying to my part. I hear you Dana.
Thank you Dana.
And I want to add that one of the best men I have ever met in my life was a Ugandan gentleman who went back to Kampala because he wanted to make a difference there. I have kept his memory close all these years because he was undoubtedly one of life’s gifts to me and to humanity.
I see you. You matter, and your husband matters. Thank you.
Dana,
Yes, that MDK held me off for years. It was only two years ago when I became brave enough to even look inside one of their books. Isn’t it amazing what history and perceptions can do to us?
I’m an avid reader of history and started another book yesterday. This one, a compilation of essays written by those affected by the KKK and survived and those who knew victims. I haven’t gotten too far into it yet and did read the warnings that it would be terribly graphic. We have to know the past no matter how ugly so that we can realize that the Now needs to be fixed immediately.
My own daughters were the subject of a heated conversation during one Sunday dinner at my former mother-in-law’s. My ex is 100% Polish, I’m a mix of who knows what. Our oldest daughter was born with dark hair, brown eyes and darker skin. Our youngest is, as she describes herself – so pale she’s like paper, blond, blue-eyed. I was told that day by my MIL that she didn’t like my older daughter’s skin tone. It was too dark. She also said the same about two other of her granddaughters who also had dark hair, dark skin and brown eyes. She looked at me as if it was my fault. Excuse me? These are your grandchildren and each of your own children had a part in the darker skinned children. Her two blond, blue-eyed daughters and her blue-eyed son were parents of the kids. After that conversation I could never look at her the same. How do you divide your own grandchildren like that? On top of that, she never mentioned the dark skinned, brown-eyed grandson. Why not?
Susan aka MiYarnStalker
who cringes every time I have to check a box denoting my race. Why can’t we just have the checkbox that says “Human”?
Wow! Your example of BLM protests being met with tear gas and rubber bullets and protesters openly carrying guns demanding business be opened being met with silence really put it all in perspective for me. Thank you
Thank you beautiful lady. I see you. I hear you. I love you. I want to hug you.
Wouldn’t it be wonderful if skin color were like yarn colors? All sharing space (on a shelf) until woven together to form garment full of love. I cringe when I think of times when I, unknowingly, said or did something that continues the divide. I have lived in ignorance, thinking things were better than 30 years ago, but missing the remaining awful negative undercurrent of assumptions that perpetuate this racial injustice. I can only change me. I see you. I pray I am a catalyst for change in those around me.
I see you Dana. I hear you.
I thought I did before, too, but I was fooling myself. I have been watching, listening, and finally HEARING, and now I know better.
Thank you.
Excellent piece, very helpful and wise. Thank you. I will keep your words in my heart and hope they will continually continue to shape my own words and actions. I see and hear you,and thank you.
Ya know the first time I saw Modern Daily I felt like you did..hmm…what does this mean. Off putting…of course it’s pretty wonderful. Anyway I see you and stand with you. I’m listening
Thank you. I live in Richmond VA. A city that has celebrated the “Lost Cause” in their monuments to the Confederacy, and in many of their historic teaching in schools and way of life. Yesterday our governor announced that all these monuments be removed, and we all embrace what I pray will be a better future for every soul living in the USA.
I see you, and stand with you. I pray for your peace of mind and look forward to true equality for knitters and everyone who hungers for expression of their God given talents.
Dana, I also see you, hear you and would hug you if I was nearer.
I see you, I hear you, and I grieve with you, Dear Dana ❤️
I did not understand what was going on, but I wanted to educate myself. Last night I watched 13, on Netflix and I was educated and saddened to learn of the systematic racism that exists in this country. I am 55 and have lived through a lot of what has happened but now I get it. I even knew that the media was training me to look at black males differently and I didn’t like it and didn’t know how to stop it. Now I know I was right.
Thank you, Dana. There is no excuse for what has happened. My heart aches for you, and I am ashamed for what our country does and does not do.
Thank you for taking the time and energy when those must be in limited supply to share this. I see you. And I was so happy to find your blog when Ravelry did a feature on you and your knitting. I, too, was hesitant to follow a link to a site called Modern Daily. I still am. It feels like, well, all the things you said here. I see you, and I’m doing the work to reject everything the South taught me and to teach my children the truth about America. Their first impulse will not be one of racism. They will not call the police as a threat (okay, neither would I…). They will not lock their doors or clutch their purses. They will remember the pictures of your beautiful family and all those bright sweaters and see their neighbors and treat them with care and respect. They already do. Thank you again for all you do. It’s so much more than knitting.
Please know that many of us are praying for peace – please (when you are ready) pick up those needles.
Dana, honestly I cannot relate. I will read your posts and provide a minute or two of thought. However it is not me or mine who would be able to help you.
I definitely promise to see you behind your knitting as the person you lay claim to.
God Bless.
I don’t know if you’ll get this reply to your comment – I think it is ALL of ours to help.
Women wouldn’t have the vote if men didn’t vote to give it to them.
I can’t imagine how you can promise to see Dana if you can only be bothered to spend “a minute or two” thinking about this.
Are you a human living on planet earth? If the answer is yes, then it is up to you and yours to help. You would benefit from spending more than a minute or two of thinking about the article and doing some serious introspection.
I see and hear you loud & clear. Thank you for sharing. I couldn’t agree more with your perspective and even though I’m not black nor American, please know there are people everywhere who SEE and HEAR you. BUT, it’s not enough to get it: we must all break the silences that make us complicit in atrocity. That was supposed to be the lesson of the 20th century: the Nuremberg Principles. I have never understood how the man who could write something as beautiful as the Declaration of Independence could own slaves. That very contradiction seems to me the heart of our human problems…Much love to you. May we knit a better paradigm for all out of this tragic time.
Thank you Dana for sharing your pain with us. These words will stay with me.
I see you, Dana. Thank you for sharing this.
I hope you get your knitting mojo back! I love your enthusiasm, energy and ingenuity. Thank you!
I see you. I hear you. I support you.
Thank you again.
I see you, Dana, and I am so very sorry for your pain. Thank you for writing this and please keep sharing your story. It’s a small thing, but my teenaged daughter just asked me to proofread a letter she is sending to the AG of KY demanding justice for Breonna Taylor. As a parent, it is critical for me to raise my white child with an awareness of our privilege and our responsibility to work toward change. Thinking of you and your family in this difficult time.
Thank you for your powerful words, and for taking us behind the FB and Insta posts for a look at your reality. It’s heartbreaking and frightening to try and step into your shoes, even for a moment. I hope that this is the beginning of the end of systemic racism in our nation, and every person can live their lives, as they see fit, without fear. Be well, be safe, and much love to you and your family.
Thank you Dana for reminding all of us to look beyond ourselves and to ourselves. To consider the path another pair of shoes takes and how that path is perceived by the walker and the looker. Thank you for reminding us that names, faces, jobs are only the surface but to consider the people who have the names, faces, and jobs and how we respond to them.
Thank you Dana. I hear you and I want to keep hearing you. And thank you MDK for opening this space for this critical issue.
Thank you. I pray that all this horror will be a catalyst for real change. Where we can finally see people as people and love each other because we get to know one another and become true friends.
I can’t remember how I came across your knitting site, but I stayed not just because of what knit. I’m inspired by your posts and they have cheered my heart.
My love is with you. Please take care of yourself. ❤️
Dana, I see you and hear you and honor you. Thank you.
Well said. Thank you
I see you, I don’t think any of us white Knitters can fathom what it is like growing up and living black. We need to learn, listen and understand and then not stay silent, I think the silence of us who are , for a lack of a better term, white but on your side is what let’s white supremacy fester and grow. It is up to us who let a system of oppression continue for decades after the civil rights movement, to rapidly change the status quo… so silence no more and not just words but actions from all of us white people. We cannot un-do what has been done but we must change the system together now.
The email said “would you demand justice for me?” And I teared up. I hadn’t realized that I don’t think of you as black, I think of you as a knitter. Thank you Dana, I hear you. I see you. Keep safe.
I see you and I hear you, Dana. I’ve followed you on Instagram for a while now but never commented until I read your column on this site. As a white woman, I may not understand your exact experiences but I will stand with you. I am beyond ashamed to see the state of our nation and our society as whole. I grew up in a pretty racist family, so I acknowledge that I have absorbed these ideas but I am fighting to further educate and fight these ideas within myself. One of the hardest fights of my life was to convince my parents to meet my boyfriend and the love of my life who happens to be Black. It took over a year from the point I told them about him to the day they met him. Meanwhile, in the past they would meet a guy I was dating that was white in a heartbeat even if the guy was a jerk (as much of them were). I realized recently the fight to rid myself of these ingrained ideas is going to be even harder. But, I’m going to do it because it needs to be done.
I will stand with you, Dana. I see your pain and I hear your voice. Keep speaking the truth because it needs to be said until things change for the better!
Thank you for writing today, even though it was very difficult.
thank you for sharing this. I appreciate your heartfelt perspective.
So eloquently stated. Since I was a teenager many years ago, I first heard MLK’s “I Have A Dream” speech in total, one sentence that resonated and has remained with me is to not judge people by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character. I utilize that practice every single day of my life, not only with African-American people, but everyone I meet. It applies to all races, and no one is exempt from this standard. You are a very lovely woman and I am sorry that you have to go through this. I stand with you and wish you peace and well-being.
Thank you for this, Dana. I see you and hold you with love.
It must be extra tough being in or near to DC at this time. And I never gave much thought to the title “Modern Daily” until your post today.
Sending you love and support from Wisconsin.
I am a middle aged white woman – I had the same reaction to the MDK name. I first saw it on their book of patterns so many years ago. I loved the book but could not buy it. Like you, I am now an avid follower. My spirit is low and heavy but when I see the young people,YES, even in my small mid-west town, taking ACTION I see hope. We hold our power in our vote. I am a retired teacher and have worked for racial justice my entire working life. I’m hoping for a future where we can all breathe. Free.
I thank you for your your enlightening writing – a strong step in the journey.
Amen, Jane: “WE HOLD OUR POWER IN OUR VOTE.” Seeing and really hearing is first, but unless you act, speak out, support change organizations with your money and/or your time, and VOTE as if your own life depends on it, you’re still supporting the status quo.
See also: I Don’t Need ‘Love’ Texts From My White Friends
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/05/opinion/whites-anti-blackness-protests.html?referringSource=articleShare
I see you, I hear you and I support you and all of my black and brown bothers and sisters. Thank you for this post@
I may be white on the outside, but I have children and friends of color. We are all of us the same color on the inside. We are all people. I hear you, and I share your pain. I worry about all of us, and how we will make a better world for us all. The many voices that I hear give me hope and strength.
Thank you, Dana!
I see you and I hear you!
Thank you, sis. Be safe and well.
I see you.
Thank you.
I see you. I don’t knit, but I love fiber. And I love pugs. I found you through your connection with The Crafty Hong Sisters. I saw your glorious love of color, texture, and your skill at combining color. And obviously, your love of Jelly Bean. I felt an affinity with you and Jelly Bean and started following you.
Thank you for all you have shared.
I see you. I hear you. Thank you,
I see you. I hear you. Thank you.
Thank you for sharing this Dana. All I can do is knit. I am so grieved by all of this that I can’t concentrate on anything else. I don’t want to talk or share. Just sit and knit or when I can’t stand it I go to my garden and find solace there. Are we at a time now when we can do something to end this? Your letter to all of us…………please keep them coming. We all need to hear this over and over. We need to know that there are people who are fearful and sad and in pain because of what we call the status quo. Laws need to change, people need to change. If we let this go away and fall back into the status quo we have lost again. We need to keep this up until the letters stop and we see smiles and love. It will be hard but we just can’t stop and see more lives being ended so needlessly. I hope I have said this all in a respectful manner. My heart is aching for you. Please keep helping us all to help you,
I send you love. I stand beside and want to know my heart is hurting with you. Stay safe and know you are not alone. ❤
Dana, I’m listening. Thank you so much for writing and sharing this post. I recognize I have privilege that others do not. I want to be an ally and am reading, viewing, and listening all that I can. I hope you do get to a place where knitting brings you joy again. You have so many gifts.
[Like others here, I was initially put off by the MDK name and it still gives me pause]
Sadly beautiful. Thank you for helping me learn
Dana and all people of color…I see you, I will listen to you, I cry for you, and I hope that we can see some systemic change in this broken world…Leah from Minneapolis. Peace to you! Thank you for writing this.
Love your dog’s name, Jellybean. And your picture. I wish I could spend a Sunday afternoon with you knitting and talking.
Thank you so much for taking the time to write this, even in the midst of all that you are going through. Your words are so powerful and move me, and hopefully many other white people, to do all we can to change so that you and your family can be safe in our country.
My heart goes out to you. I live in a town in Colorado where I am unlikely to see an African American. That really bothers me now. Frankly I am ashamed of that. We must do better. I see you and hear you and you matter!
Hi. I lived in Colorado for eight years. My husband is an engineer. We moved to Denver because of his job. We were often the only people of color where we lived, shopped, dined out. Our daughter was the only African American in her class. My daughter and I lived on Lookout Mountain after my divorce. The sheriff followed me for weeks until white friends intervened. Blacks lived in a separate area of Denver.
I learned a lot more about racism in Colorado than I did in the deep south. We were discriminated against when it came to housing and employment. I was a student at the Art Institute (CIA). Students from across America were my classmates. It was a haven. I was accepted. A classmate bought a copy of The Star Bellies Sneetches for my daughter. One of her classmates called her the “n” word. These children were six. Who taught that word to a first grader? We were “starving” art students so the gift was especially dear. Thank you, Ramona. My daughter still has that book. May every parent give a copy to at least one child they know. Each one teach one.
How such ugliness could ever exist in a beautiful place like Colorado stumped me. More people were kind than not. People like you make it a a more beautiful place. Don’t change.
Be well.
I see you. Thank you for being an important part of this community.
I see you, I support you.
Yes I would.
As a new knitter, I remember finding the Modern Daily book in my local used book store and I had the same reaction to the name and put it back on the shelf. Curiosity got the best of me and I pulled it back off, opened it, and decided to purchase it, which was a good decision. But yeah, that name…
I see you, Dana.
I see you Dana. I feel your broken heart. Thank you for adding your voice to this important conversation.
I see you and send love to you.
Thank you, Dana, for letting us read a bit about you. I hear you. I see you. I am learning every day and literally standing with those in my community who are at higher risk for harm than I and am using my white privilege constructively. I will never be silent. Thank you for all you do.
I see you and I stand behind you. Thank you for speaking out. I am sorry you had to.
Thank you for this. I have had the same reaction to the name Modern Daily and have taken several tries to follow regularly and learn that Ann and Kay support equity, creativity and originality. The recent posts are a tribute to their earnestness. Thank you.
I see you, and appreciate what you’ve written here.
Be well. Stay safe. Take care.
Reading this with love. I have been reading everything I can find on racism these past few days because I have been unaware and privileged most of my life. Thanks.
Thank you Dana, I see you!. I will be 70 this year as another decade goes by. I have never let the color of one make a difference, but the love in their heart. A passion that everyone has. I feel your pain and I support you. We must work together to achieve this goal.
Your voice was just what I needed to hear. So many sites are recommending reading, but I don’t want to be intellectual right now. I want to hear with my heart. Thank you for sharing yours.
Yes, Dana! Thank you for speaking at the difficult time. I SEE you, and I’m continuing to do the work on myself and in my community.
Dana, I don’t know what I can say as an Internet stranger making a comment on a blog that will make you feel better, but I’m going to try anyway. I see you and other people of color. I respect your perspectives, I believe your experiences and your feelings. I support your desire for an equal, fair country and world for people of color who have been suppressed and denied fairness and equality for so long. I know that I have much to learn and I am actively seeking to learn. Thank you for your post, for sharing your feelings and fears. I acknowledge your pain, I value you as a person, and as a fellow knitter. My heart is with you.
Thank you Dana. I am sad about the lack of progress in our country 60 years later. I was not comfortable with Mason-dixon name either. I only started exploring the site after I discovered your “edit”. Thanks for your truth. Thanks for being you. We need unity for the U.S. to progress. We need to vote in November.
I see you. I hear you. And I WILL demand justice for you. Black lives matter!
Thank you, Dana. I am white and I am ashamed. I know it is difficult but each of us must do what we can to care for ourselves and to make our tiny piece of the world peaceful. I have been plunging into despair but I bring myself back up to look for the good and to BE the good. Knitting helps pull me back up. I hope it will for you, too. Because we cannot let the evil push us down; that gives evil too much power. Thank you for posting and sharing.
Thank you. I see you, Dana.
Beautifully written…Well said.
Dana – as a White woman I cannot ever understand your pain. I do pray for you to find peace and a time when all of us can view each other as knitters – nothing more or less- wouldn’t that be best?
I see you, Dana. ❤
You are very brave to tell us about your fear and frustration. And your work — your art, really — is brave, too. I see you. I see how you couldn’t be knitting now, and I see I have a lot to learn. And I love you! Thank you, dear Dana.
I am a white woman from Germany, living in the USA. As I am learning more about this beautiful country with its terrible foundation, I know I need to learn more, do more, listen more and see more. I see you, I vow to educate myself to be able to check myself.
Dana,
Thank you for your honesty. I didn’t think I was part of the problem, but I’m realizing that I am. I will try to do better; most especially, I will make a point of seeing people and speaking up.
Linda
Beautiful written. As a white women from California I to have the same feeling about the name Masson Dixon. l would have never looked at the site except for a post from quarantine knitting on Facebook. Keep sharing your joy of knitting!
Thank you for your sincere sharing. Sending my best wishes for the healing you need, and for a return to creativity.
From one Dana to another- this is some powerful writing.
This has been a hard 3.5 years. For black folks though, it’s been a hard 3.5+ centuries.
You are seen, and everyone who has time to leave a comment here has time to vote in November, or escort friends/family to the polls.
My beloved sister, Thank you for sharing you! Your words are my words. I too am a black woman in pain. I am familiar with “your calm” and for you to at this time not to find that calm in knitting the beautiful works that you do, I feel for you. We are at a point in time of change and it is my hope for the better. Black lives Matter. Be well my sister.
Working for justice everyday. I would scream and get in some faces if you were murdered like Breonna Taylor. Your words are true and you are seen and loved here.
I am listening. I see you, Dana. Since I started to follow your blog, I have admired you for your ability not only to knit but also for you as a well educated and eloquent woman. I will continue to listen, to see, to act on behalf of you and all black lives.
May you be seen and heard and loved. You are by me. Thank you for your words.
Dana. I am an eighty- year old white woman from Flint,Michigan and if
something happened to you or to your husband I would seek justice for you in a heartbeat.
Thank you for helping us to see a better way. Nan
Your honest words and experience in your skin touched my heart. I appreciate you taking the risk of sharing. My eyes have been opened; I SEE you and I am pledging to educate myself and be a part of the dialogue to support you. I know how much knitting means to me. May this be a first step in your creative healing so that you will pick up your needles sooner rather than later. Keep teaching us not only about knitting, but about humanity!
I see you. I hear you. Taking action to change inside and out. I’m with you, Dana.
Eloquently said. I see you.
It is Gods wish that black people stand in equality to all people. So this will come to pass though it is frustrating to think we may not live to see it. That is the power we, as whites, are obligated to. To do our piece to see that it happens. Regardless of who our are friends are or aren’t, who we now see in our neighborhoods or not, there must be justice for all.
Thanks for writing this Dana. I like that your standing in your spot even when you are discouraged.
Thank you for sharing. Thank you . . .
My heart is heavy too. How unbearable this all is, and I’m a white senior woman. Can’t begin to imagine what it would be like to be inside black skin, ever, but especially now. And your husband, oh my God. I see little black boys and nearly panic about what they may be facing. I think you are wonderful, and a wonderful knitter, and wish you well.
Big virtual hug,
Carole
Thank you so very much for sharing your voice. We all needed to hear your words. May this difficult time demand pf each of us the change we need so badly in our country and in the world.
❤️
Thank you, Dana, for opening your heart in this space.
As a black knitter, I have continuing issues with the Modern Daily reference. I’m on the MDK mailing list, so I read MDK articles when prompted by an email, and I’ve even bought patterns but I never think “Let me go see what’s going on over at MDK.” My lizard brain just won’t allow me to be comfortable in a place with such a name. I’ve never been put off by anything I’ve read there but there’s an uneasy feeling that comes over me every time I see the name.
As a pastor in a mainline Christian denomination (translation: mostly white), I have found knitting, crocheting and other types of crafting to be pathways to racial reconciliation. The common ground of making beautiful and useful things by hand has forged unexpected, precious connections between me and many white women, some of whom live in areas of this country where I would hesitate to go (Idaho, Wyoming, Oregon). I coordinated a project where I invited women of my denomination from all of the western states to make prayer squares (a/k/a pocket prayer shawls) and bring or send them to a weekend conference. I was pleasantly surprised at the enthusiasm and the level of participation that resulted. Another result was that now I am known by a lot of white women as the black lady pastor who knits.
Still, I have the same question: if I or a member of my family were killed by the police—God forbid—or accused by a white person of doing anything while black, would any of these women see and talk about the injustice of it? Or would they retreat to the privileged camp of “there must be more to the story” and “they must have been doing something wrong”?
“The privileged camp of ‘there must be more to the story’ and ‘they must have been doing something wrong’ ” – you’ve summed up the reaction I hear too often (when just once would be too often) from white people who wouldn’t consider themselves racist. Thanks for putting it so concisely.
Thank you for your thoughtful, timely column. I appreciate your comments about the phrase “Modern Daily”. Although I’m not a woman of color, I am a feminist liberal from New Jersey who finds joy and relaxation as a maker. I have always enjoyed the diversity that comes with mixing in circles where the members value contributions, intelligence, creativity, and character. I value your creative contributions, your knowledge, your leadership, and your character. I value your words for opening our eyes to the bigger issues and the relevance to our everyday lives. Let’s hope other circles are having these conversations. Change won’t happen without this dialogue. And yes, I’d demand justice for you.
I see you and I thank you for writing this, as it must have been difficult. God Bless You, and may God Bless Us All during this very sad time in our country’s history. I hope that this time we will learn to truly love one another.
My love to you, dear one.
Dana, thank you for your words and your honesty. Getting to know people, and really seeing them, changes our perception of “the other”. I appreciate you sharing your feelings and hurts so that we can put a personal face to the effects of this tragedy. Hopefully, this moment in our history will be the one that makes us take off our blinders and see what racism has done to our sisters and brothers. And see what we must do to move forward. I hope you can take some comfort snuggling up with Jellybean and knowing people hear you and care. And maybe we can change things enough so that when people see MDK, it doesn’t remind them of a dividing line, but of Many Diverse Knitters! Blessings and love to you.
I was trying to think of something else MDK could stand for–thank you! you fixed it.
Beautifully written, obviously painfully and tragically experienced. I will say more when I can stop the tears. So much love to you and our millions of diverse race, ethnicity, religion, etc. with the self expectation to work to change the systems that result in such immoral and despicable normalized bias.
I see you. Thank you.
Dana thank you for your reflections. I am white but as a New Englander I had my own reaction to the name Modern Daily as a “northerner” and Yankee. Moving to Maryland, “the south”, was a huge adjustment. But have come to embrace the ease of interactions here. You can chat with anyone, especially in lines, and people always excuse themselves when cutting in front of you. And I want to be clear – I moved here from Boston, a very, very racist city. I started working in the public schools when desegregation began. My son is biracial – half Dominican- and I was criticized by white parents – friends and friends of friends- for not using my white privilege to get my son into the most “desirable” public schools in the city. My response to them was – but my son isn’t white like your children. I was one of three teachers out of 75 in my school who actualy lived in the city. But through all that, I have always had my white skin privilege to protect me. I wasn’t aware you’re a professor at Howard, sister institution to Gallauet where I was on the faculty for 27 years until I retired last year. Sisterly hugs to you, Barbara
Thank you, Dana! I hear you. I see you. And I would stand up for you and your husband. I am a white woman married to a man of color with mixed children. I have been working since college to recognize and confront my own racism. And I was horrified to see the varied reactions in my own state to armed white and unarmed Black protesters. Right now, I am reading Stamped by Dr. Ibram Kendi and Jason Reynolds (this is the teen version, but there is also an adult version.) It is a very informative look into how racist laws have been embedded into the US from the beginning. I recommend it to anyone wanting to learn more of the history of racism and racist ideas in the US. A blogging friend put together this round-up of anti-racism resources for adults and kids (lots of books): https://momreadit.wordpress.com/2020/06/03/anti-racism-resources/ Several of my Black friends on blogs and Twitter have been asking also that we all read and watch not just things about the pain of racism, but also books and shows about Black people just living and being people. Here is a list of shows we could watch while knitting: https://theakilahbrown.com/2020/06/02/black-book-tv-show-and-movie-recommendations-blackouttuesday/
Thank you for this, Dana. My heart breaks for you & all of us who are not white. Renee at Miss Celie’s Pants also wrote a powerful blog post that resonated with me – https://missceliespants.com/2020/06/03/your-black-friend/
Thank you, Dana. I see you. I hear you. As a fellow POC knitter, I stand with you.
Bless you Dana
This is so incredibly powerful. Thank you for making the problem so visual and concrete. My heart is breaking. I will do everything I can to demand justice. I see you. I hear you.
I don’t want to repeat what 213 readers have written.
People on Ravelry and Instagram have talked about ways to make knitting more welcoming over the past months… and I just discovered that Dana is on Twitter, and we can subscribe. I see lots of references there to what we can read to understand what’s happening now.
Like so many others, the name, Modern Daily Knitting, made me shy away. I couldn’t imagine the term used in a good way, and yet the site, the books, the people are the opposite of all those associations. Perhaps that’s why MDK?
my heart aches
Thank you for being so open and honest and sharing your deepest feelings. I pray we all find a place of peace soon.
Thank you Dana. I see you. I hear you, I will keep listening and doing what I can do to be better and to demand better out of the people around me and the systems i encounter.
Thank you. When I knit or crochet, I will pray that you will, once again, find peace in knitting.
Thank you for helping me to begin to truly see how it is for you. I recommend the Office of Health Equity at Vanderbilt University Medical Center for helpful resources for others in their search for understanding.
I do see you, a beautiful human being, whose face I am so happy to see in these pages! Justice is not justice unless it applies to everyone. I would be happy to see you and or your husband anywhere and have a conversation with you about anything. I have grown up working towards a world that understands that humanity is one family with all the diversity and we are all brothers and sisters. I weep for the loss to the world of everyone who loses their life as a result of ignorance and prejudice and mean spirit, and I pray that hearts and attitudes and institutions will be changed so that it doesn’t happen any more.
I see you. I hear you. Thank you for your words.
Thank you for this. I hear you AND I see you. You are saying things that all of us need to hear.
Your knitting is beautiful but hearing you taught at Howard really made the biggest impression on me.
I remember how welcome I felt when I took a teachers’ exam once at Howard. As a new teacher in DC, I felt such deep respect for Howard and how it leads and contributes to DC’s culture. Thank you for raising your voice and offering us this.
Dana, thank you for the most honest, thought provoking contribution that I have read lately. I am heartbroken, but I won’t be igorant and I won’t be silent. Please, please know that you are seen. And heard. And know that you are appreciated, admired and loved.
Very thoughtfully written
Will follow you happily!
I am so proud of you for having the courage to speak your truth. Your truth is our truth. I applaud you for talking openly about the issues we face every day of our lives. Being Black takes courage. I take heart in your desire and ability to say what so many of us believe people need to hear and understand about what racism is and does to the human psyche. Racism affects the person who perpetrates it as well as the person it is perpetrated against. I want to add my voice to this PSA: I am sick and tired of well meaning people confessing their color blindness. My response has always been “If you don’t see my color, you don’t see me.” My brown skin is the first thing you will always see first! See me! See who I am. I am just like you. We want the same things. We have the same needs. We have the same emotions. We are sensitive, and talented and flawed and loving. I am a human being. Stop telling me how articulate and intelligent I am. Why are you surprised that I am? Must you always expect less of me and mine? Get to know me. Learn about my culture–a culture created within a culture that dominates and tries to exterminate older cultures. God created “races” of men for a reason. Allow us to thrive. You can’t kill us all. No other race has ever tried to wipe out whites. Whites cannot say the same. There is enough at the table for everyone. Why are you so threatened by our differences? Are you afraid there will come a day of reckoning? Are you afraid Black and other people of color will do to you what you have done to them? You can never walk in our shoes but you can see where we have walked. Walk with us, not against us. Dana, you have a world behind you. Speak on. You speak for millions. I am glad you’re here. I’m thankful that I discovered your place on this great web. Be well. Thank you.
I see you. And I thank you.
Thank you for this, I need to hear you.
Thank you for writing this. It brought me to tears.
Dana, I see you and hear what you’re saying. Keep doing it — we need you!
I have so much to say, i wish we could sit down together and talk. I felt the same way about the name “Modern Daily” even tho I’m white. My father was from the deep south and a racist, we argued about it many many times. My life experiences allow me to feel ‘some’ of what you feel but not all of course. Please just know that as others here have said, I see you, I hear you and I support you. Hopefully this latest incidence will lead to REAL change. Please know that many of us are holding you in our hearts.
Dana, the way for you to battle racism is just to be YOU………….a wonderful YOU. I hope you find your “Yards of Happiness” again very soon.
Thank you for sharing your feelings. During these times sharing your feelings is better than sharing knitting patterns. You truly are more than your knits. I stand by you and others like you.
Beautifully said. Don’t give up. We are with you.
I see you and think you are beautiful for your honesty.
Thank you
As a fellow knitter – the first thing I see is a beautiful knitted item on a person
I consider this a compliment to the knitter
I will then look at their face, smile and tell them how wonderful their item is and how good it looks on them
I don’t intend to offend anyone because of their race
Please do not think all white people are bad. We don’t have your first hand experience but most of us know the difference between right and wrong. When we see a wrong we need to speak up and bring it to everyone’s attention. We are all created equal and should be treated as such.
I stand with you
Dana, I see you. I hear you. Thank you for your eloquent words.
Thank you, Dana, for your honesty. I see you in every way. Your eloquent words struck me silent. I only can say Thank you.
Thank you for this essay. I’m so impressed that you’ve said this on a knitting site. We see and hear you.
Dana, I see you. I am educating myself and I am thankful to those of my friend who take the time to help me get that education. I’m not expecting to be educated by my friends who are people of color, I am very thankful when they do take the time. Thank you for your words, thank you for your posts.
Beautifully written…your heartfelt words will stay with me. Thank you, Dana.
I see you. I send you love, and I keep making a conscious effort to see every person I come into contact with.
Dana, Thank you for this. I also saw your insta post where you shared in such a honest way. I was deeply moved. I see you. I see your husband. My heart is broken. Honestly, I have lived in VA for the last 7 years due to my husband’s job and it has been an emotionally disturbing time for me. I see racism, homophobia, sexism and misogyny all day long. The policy in this town is say nothing no matter how horrible are the things you hear said and see done or not done. I have read many books including How to be an Anti-Racist and Colson Whitehead and Ta-Nahisi Coates and more and more and more. I have taken diversity training and become a Buddhist chaplain so I can walk alongside those in need. Still the need is so profound and I feel helpless. Your talk and your blog piece today help. And I agree that Modern Daily is not a good name, it is triggering for so many. I am grateful to you for your clear, and honest offering.
Dana – I too have been unable to knit. Not a single stitch. I am heartbroken over the events of the last 2 weeks. The country feels like it is coming apart at the seams and I am so sorry. Sorry that this is happening and sorry for your pain. I am listening, and I hear you. I believe that sharing your fears and emotions in this courageous essay contributes to the wave which I hope will bring long overdue change.
I see you. I yearn and act for justice and change. I hope my eyes always stay open and see a better country come out of this.
Dana, I see you, hear you, and support you. Thank you for sharing your feelings with us. I’m angry and sad for all the pain created by the many injustices experienced by Black Americans. There must be reform!
Know that you matter to me.
Bless you. And thank you.
Thank you for sharing your life with us! I stand with you!
A thousand heart emojis for you. I’m so sorry that the murders of Breonna Taylor, Ahmad Arbery, George Floyd and so many others and the protests that have followed are making you feel sad and disinterested in, among other things, a hobby you usually take joy in. I hope there are enough positive outcomes from these protests that you will find your joy again. I hope this revolution creates real change and isn’t just another crises in a long history of racism and white supremacy. It feels more impactful but it will take time to know if it really is. Here’s to a better future for Black people everywhere.
Thank you, Dana.
I see you. I’m listening. I’m learning. Thank you.
Dana,
I see you, I hear you, I think you are terrific.
And yes, I hope I would not allow anyone to hurt you.
I am a white, older, woman, who is completely horrified by what is still happening in America.
I am scared. For all of us.
I have been to protests starting at Woolworths lunch counters in 1960, when I was 15. I’m tired.
Yet here I am, still marching in the streets. My grandchildren are now marching in the streets.
I cannot knit, either. I seem to be walking , walking, walking. So I don’t explode.
My heart hurts.
Know you are seen, heard , and loved. Like every other human on this planet.
Thank you! ❤️
Thank you for your thoughtful words and insight. May we always seek to truly see each other and not to fear our differences. I often think that people in general don’t see beyond the knitting needles when they encounter a person who loves to use their hands to make things. I always think of Agatha Christy’s Miss Marple and the quote “don’t let the knitting needles fool you.” We have brains (else how could we excel at this craft) and may God give us the sense and courage to use them for the good of us all.
Thank you for the emotional labor of this post. I remember the first time I saw Modern Daily Knitting and I also wondered what they stood for due to the name. I only really joined the site after I read their mission and values page. I wanted you to know you were not alone in that feeling. I hope you’re getting the care and support you need during these (re)traumatizing few weeks.
Dana, I hear you. My husband and I taught our children well and we continue to see it today in their lives and now the grandkids. When my oldest was 5, her best friend was Black. She had no idea there was a difference between them. One day my daughter said, Mom. Did you know April is black? I said yes, but what difference did that make? I asked her how did she know her friend’s skin color was different. She told me another boy (white) told her so and shouldn’t play with her. It broke my heart to tell her some parents don’t like people of different colors. I reminded her the we are all brothers and sisters of a Heavenly Father who loves all of us, no matter what their skin color. We have changed our little generation. I see you, Dana. Love you my sister
Thank you for sharing. I am listening
Thank you for your post. I wish that I could express my thoughts as powerfully and clearly as you did.
No justice no peace. I pray and work for that day of justice.Thank you for sharing your thoughts, your skills and your humanity.
I am looking at you and listening to you with respect and an open heart.
Wendy H
Thank you Dana. We can all get back to knitting later. It’s mucb more important to focus on this issue now. And thank you to Ann and Kay for using your platform for good.
I see you Dana, and I hear you, thank you for your honest and challenging (in a good way) words. On this side of the pond we have much to repent of too.
I see you and continue to want to see more! You are such an inspiration in so many ways. Thank you for writing this. It is so important for us to hear it. Sending love from NY.
Dana, I DO see you. I am sickened by what is going on in this country, and by what has gone on in this country since your people were abducted from your countries of origin. I am also sickened by what is happening to this country politically. Seeing George Floyd murdered before my eyes sickened me. Enough is enough. We, ALL the people of this country who care about human rights, can’t take it anymore. Because our nation is in such a sorry state on so many levels, I hope change will finally come. We are on the precipice, and we have to quickly back away. People of good will are SICK of it.
I see YOU, Dana. I write this with tears in my eyes and know that I have to help bring about the change that’s needed. Since my marriage to a Black man and the birth of my biracial son, I’ve learned to view our country in a different way and have worked to see it through your eyes rather then mine. Its been an eye opening journey which won’t end until all people see that the measure of a person is not through the color of their skin but rather through the goodness in their heart.
Wonderfully said, Dana! Many leaders are saying this requires a heart change: let it begin in me! Knit on!
My daughter and I are frustrated to the point of tears. As white women we struggle and struggle to be advocates and supports. We know we can never really walk in your shoes and we know we are victims of our own unconscious biases but we are listening and we are trying and we are ready to be more than ‘not racist’ we are working to be anti-racist. As a physician I am acutely aware of disparities in health care and I struggle here too. Please know that we are ready for direction. I will kneel. I will protest. I will know that that is not nearly enough and I will work to do more.
Hello, Dana. I see you and I am listening. Thank you for writing this and for sharing your feelings, especially when you don’t really feel like it. I’m so sorry for your pain and worry. I vow to do better.
Tears shed. Lessons and battles to be joined hoping that in my lifetime social injustice will finally be giving it’s due.
Loving that gorgeous smile on your Mama’s beautiful face. Also wondering if you can direct me to the vest pattern you made for her. You and Jellybean are quite the fashion icons.
Thank you.
I see you. I am moved by your words. I am outraged by the injustices in this country. I want change. Now.Thank you for your honesty and vulnerability.
Thank you for these words, Dana. I see you, I support you, and I’m listening. Please do what you need to take care of yourself.
Dana, this was so beautifully written and I feel every word. I crochet through my pain and fear and anxiety, even if it isn’t necessarily calming anymore.
Someone else said it, if you make a revolution or protest sweater or other pattern, I will make it (as best I can, not being a knitter and all) and wear it proudly.
I hope you are inspired and buoyed by the love and support you have here and get your mojo back.
Thank you dear Dana for taking time to share so candidly and lovingly. Sitting here and staring at my keyboard, I’ve tried to write a reply to your message; but each one seems feeble and trite. I see you, but to honor the point of your message, even though I try to see you, I am sure I fail. I am so sorry.
Thank you for sharing your pain and frustration. I am listening and getting involved in my community.
Thank you for writing this, for sharing your emotional energy with the community here.
I’m a 67 year old white woman, an RN and grew up going to naturally integrated schools. My heart is broken by the state of our Country
I see you. I seek out women of color to follow and read and learn from, so my subscribing was not about those adorable sweaters (that now I really need to go find on line) it was because of who you are.
I hear you and will always receive what you say with openness, the same way I would hope to be received if I were speaking from my heart about things that are precious to me.
Please know that your worth will never be tied to those who hate and fear, it will always be the intrinsic beauty that is your core. Please stay safe and healthy through all of this, I truly believe we’re going to come out the other side in a better place.
Thank you.
I see you and I love you …. I love your dogs, your husband, your yarn, your glasses, your relatives in your sweaters … all of it.
I see you and I love You!
This is such an important message. I understand not being able to knit – being completely overwhelmed by what’s happening in our country – what’s been happening and happening and happening again. My deepest hope is that this time there will be change. Stay safe and stay well. And Thank You for sharing this!
I hear you, I see you and my heart bleeds for you. I am a white older woman living in Canada and I really can’t imagine what you are going through. I am scared for the people of all races who have to deal with discrimination in this day and age. I know right now that for people who are Americans and have been Americans all their lives, but are of black decent that life in the United States has not been of equality and by no choice of your ancestors, who were taken from their home land and forced to live under standards that no person or persons should have been forced too, that you still have to deal with those people that have passed their ideas on too generations of their ancestors the same narrow mindedness of that they are better than everyone else. It makes me so angry and helpless at the same time, that I just want to grab all of them and say what the hell *…* is wrong with you. Theses people are no different than you and me and they only want a chance in life to be able to live like everyone else and have the same opportunities as everyone else. Sorry for the rant, but I definitely see you and hear you and hope and pray for you that you will one day feel safe and happy again.
I see you, Dana. I see your husband. And to all of you commenting, please see my 16 year old biracial son who looks and identifies as black. See him as more than an athlete or a threat.
Thank you Dana! I see you!
Thank you Dana!
I am first generation off the reservation native American. I grew up and still live in a white world. I grew up angry. It was hard to let go of all that anger, I found out I was only hurting myself. Knitting has been my saving grace, it has brought calm, introspection and a better world view. It keeps me praying. I will keep you in my prayers. Thank you so much for your posts.
I see you. Thank you for taking the time and energy to write. Thank you for sharing pieces of your life and passion. I have greatly enjoyed the pictures of you and your loved ones in your amazing projects. I have always felt a deep connection to you though i am less educated scholastically, a less proficient knitter and the race box i check is white. I hope this revolution continues energizing the people of the world to clean out our mental attics of old broken thought patterns. Future generations are counting on us to look inside and do the work and be worthy ancestors. Looking inside and seeing ones self and actions in a new way is emotionally draining. Thank you for providing more fuel to continue the hard work. Thank you. I see you Dana. Thank you for being you.
I appologize for any typos but between the tears, glasses and smudged cell phone… i tried to catch as many as i could see.
Thank you, Dana. I was waiting for your perspective at this time. I see you and I hear you. I have started the work of educating my white privileged self about my race and racism and am trying to be better, and to help my community to learn and be better. If we white folk don’t change, conditions won’t change. My hope is that there will soon be a critical mass of people doing this work, so that you will see the positive results. I wish you comfort, and a return to the solace of knitting.
I hear you. I do see. I notice everything. I speak up when i see somethong not rigjt. You are awesome and strong. We’ll get through this together.
i see you. i hear you. my legs feel weak hearing and feeling and seeing you and what you are sharing here. i am on this journey of learning the history of our country and how ugly and ugly and ugly its foundations are in relation to race. your comparison of the peaceful protestors protesting racial injustice and those gun carrying protestors protesting keeping our country safe from the covid 19 virus was spot on. oh, my hope is great that this time of seeing will bring real change, deep change in all the ways people of color have had to live in fear. it is not rose colored glasses hope, it is a deep trust in our shared goodness as human beings. i see you.
Until recently, I have been so unaware of the white privilege I receive, and the daily fear and struggle of our black communities. I am embarrassed for the white race, but also privileged that we get to live in a time where we have a the opportunity to stand with our black and brown neighbours and make lasting changes.
Thank you Dana Williams-Johnson for bringing forward these important, heartfelt comments to your column.
Thank you for sharing your heart. It helps to open up other hearts, including mine, that have been ignorant far too long due to unrealized privilege. Thank you. I see you, and you are a beauty to behold!
Words matter. Thank you for posting what I have been thinking for some time, and I have struggled to reconcile Modern Daily Knitting’s postings and musings, especially recent ones, under the banner of their chosen logo to represent their business. I wrote to Modern Daily about the continued use of this log, but, to this day, I have not received any kind of response. As a black woman, it is and has been hard to navigate in this world, including the knitting world, when my outer shell is viewed as a target.
I am so sad for you, I am white and I am ashamed of myself, and all others who are white. I am ashamed of my ignorance, is there any way I can be different, do different. My thoughts and prayers are for you, I will be praying daily for you (and for me) to be reconciled. I will also be praying for justice .
Dana Thank You!!! It’s one thing to say we are open to listening I think we as a knitting community need to take it a set further. We need to highlight, uplift, recognize, support and demand representation for our fellow knitters who are people of color. I will commit to seeking out and recognizing knitters of color and their work as well as bringing them to the attention of my knitting community (shops, knitting groups, social media, etc.). We practice a creative art that only flourishes when diversity of ideas and creativity are introduced. We need to make sure that the source of the idea is not lost, hidden or downplayed because it is a person of color. I stand with you, I will fight for you, I will not avoid the hard conversations, and I will teach my children and my community to do the same. I will not be perfect but I will try everyday to be better.
Wonderfully sais however in my mind you are not a black woman who knits, you are a beautiful woman who knits and who just happens to be black.
The colour of your skin isn’t what is important, your inner light shining out is.
Bless You, I pray your knitting love returns xxx
Thank you, Dana. I’m listening. Be well.
Dana, thank you for this very eloquent post. My heart hurts that all this nastiness continues.
Dana, I see you. Your writing always brightens my day. I am so sorry for your pain.
Thank you, Dana, for your honesty and your decision to write your column this month. I will stand up for you.
I see you, and I see what I have and have not done for you, and I see where I can change so that others will hopefully see you too.
What is happening now has opened my eyes to so much more that I did not see before. Before, I knew there was a problem but I didn’t see it as my problem. The most meaningful lesson I have learned is the “death by 1000 cuts”. This is where the problem is mine. Unintentionally, I have been a part of this problem by my inaction and honestly some of my actions as well. No more though. Now I see you and will change so that I always see you.
Thank you for sharing.
Ma’am, you are so right, and it doesn’t matter how many well meaning white people say they wouldn’t be terrible… There are far too many who would do vile and evil things.
I’m a chaplain by training. This isn’t about me and should never be about me. If you need somewhere safe and confidential to vent, rage, cry… I’m here. Racism is pure evil and you have to live this hell every day. Everything you are feeling is important and deserves care and listening. You are important. You are worthy of love and care if you never knit again. You matter.
Everything you said is so absolutely accurate. Thank you so much for saying it.
I see you. Thank you for this column. I am trying hard to educate myself. I hope you can find some strengthen your knitting once again.
I see you and have always seen you and other POC. But I was lucky enough to be brought up by parents who were liberal and cosmopolitan and who lived the tenets of their faith. Most of my school friends in my tiny Mediterranean island weren’t, and were aghast at seeing Arabs, Blacks, and assorted other obvious foreigners regularly coming to our house. In the 60s and 70s…… Most of these ex school “friends “ are now shouting loudly that there is no space here for the migrants that are crossing seas in search of a better life from war torn Libya. Syrians, Africans…. left to drown out at sea. It’s one of the reasons I left FB, my little, mostly fervently Catholic island disgusts me. But I still try to explain to people how harmful their stupid racist comments are, and to point out when they are being unconsciously racist. Sometimes they even listen. We all have to keep trying, and education is a huge part of that. It’s easy to look the other way and pretend nothing is happening.
About the name, as a European I actually thought it was a symbol of reaching across a divide. I love this place. And I am so pleased to see such a real effort from Ann and Kay to continue using their site as a means for change, I’ve unsubscribed from so many American knitting, sewing and other sites’ emails over the last week, because I was disgusted by their marketing newsletters that didn’t even make a nod to what is going on in the States. I shall boycott them and any others who don’t show some form of support for anti racism. Look at your banks, ladies. Look at your favorite shops and websites, and stop using them, if they don’t support change. Hit them where it hurts.
I see you and I hear you. I am sending you love.
I see you, I hear you, I respect you, I thank you.
I don’t usually comment on blogs but I wanted you to know that I’d read your article to the end and knitting or not I see you ♥️
We have a long way to go, but every time we read something so heartfelt, we can take another step closer to the goal.
Lots of people expressing their support for you, as am I. We’ll see how far they’re willing to go after this round. Bless you for being who you are and for trying to shed some perspective on this. And I also had trouble with the name Modern Daily Knitting when I first joined.
Dana I actually never heard of you before today. Your words touched me. The respect of every human life has to triumph. We all must do our part
I see you. I hear you. ❤️
Thank you so much for that. I know that my imagining what your fear and frustration feels like, is just a pale (in more ways than one) in comparison to your experience.
Dana, This really moved me. I see you and others, and I am listening.
Thank you Dana. I cried.
Remembering that golden oldie, “The personal is political”. Still true.
❤️
Dana, I see you as a beautiful, creative, loving, intelligent and generous woman. I appreciate everything you contribute to this fiber community, especially this piece which must have been so painful to write as you grieve, yet again, another brutal senseless death. You are NOT alone, and you are loved.
To my fellow whites, please #DoTheWork. It’s painful but so liberating. Read and journal through White Supremacy and Me by Layla F. Saad. It will open your eyes and your heart.
Well said Dana I also was initially concerned about the MDK site name. I am so glad to be reassured.
Dear Dana, thank you! Thanks for your honesty and your vulnerability. I’d never thought about how you would hear the term “Modern Daily.” And, I’ve never heard anyone so eloquently express the fear that African American moms and wives and aunties struggle with. So, thank you. Please keep speaking. Remember that no one can understand another point of view unless that person shares their experience. Now is the time. Folks are listening. I see you as an incredibly talented artist. A productive, and excellent knitter. But today, I see your pain and I understand your point of view in a better way. We will move forward, we will experience change. This ol’ lady, white knitter is listening!
i see you through tears today, dana. i want to believe that i would see your husband and stand up for him in any unjust situation. i want to see real change and work from the ground up to create real equality, nothing superficial or pacifying.
Thank you
Thank you, Dana.
Thank you. Please keep talking. I’m listening. Please keep writing. I’m reading. I’m forwarding your words and thoughts to library knitting groups and guilds here in Georgia. Diann Arivett diann.ari@gmail.com
I see you, and appreciate you taking the time to share your story. Thank you for your bravery, courage, and persistence. You are an inspiration!
Thank you so much for this. I’m doing my best to educate myself on ways to be an ally with the oppressed and ways to be a better person.
Dana, I see you. Thank you for sharing your pain. I support you.
Thank you for sharing so much of yourself and your heart with us. Your knitting is beautiful, and I treasure your words too. I’ve been learning and doing more to be a better anti-racist ally. May we all be knit together!
Dana – thank you so much for your words. They mean so much to me. I am very glad to see your words on this site.
Thank you.
Thank you so much for sharing.
I see you. I am you. Knitting since elementary school. Just now have time to pick it up again. Keep on keeping on
I’m currently knitting to The Warmth of Other Suns on Audible. Lots of history to catch up on.
Thanks, I know(being white) I cannot know the depths of your pain, but I still weep.
Thank you for being so honest. As a member of a long persecuted faith we are separated by color but not by experience and have a similar historic memory. I have always had minimal trust in the police and always believed that it was only a matter of time before the rest of the public was treated the same way. May these seismic events make us all mindful and lead to a better society.
I see you and I love you. And I will do better to learn and listen.
Thank you for speaking out
Hello,
As I read your article the tears filled my eyes once again and I know the fear that we have been forced to deal with. I love to crochet but since 2020’s turmoil, I find it so hard to crochet. I pray for a healing of our heart, mind and soul as mentally I am broken and hide my hurt and pain from my family. I feel as if I am being pulled into a very dark place… I pray and look forward to deliverance❤️
Thank you, Dana. I came to MDK because of you. And I still haven’t ventured beyond your column. The name is that unpleasant to me. I hope the editors are reading the many comments here and doing some soul searching. I am certainly doing my own hard work of self-evaluation these days. Wishing you moments of peace and respite in the midst of all the stress.
Dana, thank you.
To my fellow white women knitters: I have been listening to podcasts in quarantine, and looking especially for those by Black journalists and commentators. I’m not going to list them, because I don’t know how to link, but the WNYC website has a number of the ones I’m following.
The book which opened my eyes and heart to the reality and toll of micro aggression, as well as the overt actions of white supremacy: “Citizen: An American Lyric,” by poet and professor Claudia Rankine.
Thank you for taking the time and making the effort to share.
I see you. Thank you.
Thank you, Dana.
I first encountered your patterns on Modern Daily. I grew up within miles of the MasonDixon line in Missouri. I made it a point to read your blog after hearing how invisible you felt at times. As a large woman, I can relate, but I also know I have led a life of privilege and live in a small town with almost no black population. I am more aware than many of my friends and I try to take any chance I see to verbalize the disparities I see. I now read your blog because I really appreciate your sense of color and style. I love to hear about your journey. I hope you continue to share to help me understand better. I am listening. I am open.
Dana, we need to hear you, as well as see you. I am willing and determined to be the change. Thank you for sharing on this heartfelt level.
Dear Dana,
This is the first time I have read anything about you. I am moved to tears reading your blog. As a Jew, I am reminded of hatred and racism my family and ancestors endured. I denounce the systemic racism in the police and justice systems that were meant to “keep people of color in their place”. Our president is nothing but a mobster and a thug. He wants division in our country. I believe that if we can acknowledge that we are a world of many colors, maybe we can judge a person by their heart rather than any other bias. Wishing you healing and health. Phylliskoro@cox.net
I see you and I hear you. I hope this year creates lasting change, and we emerge better together. ♥️
With tears in my eyes, I see you and I hear you, Dana. Thank you for writing about your pain and in a way that made it real to me.
Thank you for making the time and energy to write this.
Thank you Dana. I see you and feel the pain clearly after reading this.
Thank you for your words. I see you and hear you. I don’t understand how any white person can live in this country and not see your pain.
Come for the dog sweaters, stay for the honesty. Sending love and a hope for better, kinder days ahead.
I see a beautiful face, a lovely smile and a huge heart. I also see a natural born teacher who contributes joy to the world.
I send hugs. I live just a few miles from Brunswick GA, and daily I’m sick. To the point that maybe we need to find a way to leave this horrible state. Thank you for sharing, thanks for being real.
I see you.Be well. Knitting will come when you’re ready, until then— just try to breathe and make space.
HUGS,
Tina
I see you and support you Dana. If you are ever in Portland, I would be honoured to have you in my home. I think you would be a great friend.
I’ve always thought I was pretty liberal and anti-racist, but the comments on this blog have brought me up short. Here’s how clueless I was: I never gave a thought to the name of this blog. I just thought “Well, Kay lives in New York and Ann lives in Nashville, so of course, Modern Daily is just the right name.” Duh. Thank you for enlightening me about still another way that I am a clueless white person.
The Modern Daily Line is a reminder that compromising hasn’t worked in the past and it won’t work now. We have to stand up for what is right, even when it leads to conflict. We are stronger when we reach across those artificial lines, lines that have been designed to divide us.
Thank you for expressing your feelings. I do hear and see you and do understand about your not knitting right now. Our creative selves are intimately tied to our emotions.
I love & echo what Collette said: I see you, I hear you, I support you. Your beautiful words brought tears to my eyes. Bless you a thousand times over for helping us expand our understanding through your sharing. I also avoided MDK for years over the name and very recently followed a thread that reluctantly led me here. As I read your words this morning, I now see my avoidance as another example of how I should have, as you did, checked it out and valued it [or not] for what I found. [I hope I am not overstating or taking away from your powerful thoughts in my interpretation.] Hugs
I stand with you. I see you. I am listening and trying to learn. Thank you.
Thank you, Dana.
❤️. May God have mercy on us all.
Thank you for your comments today. Like you, I was put off by the name, Modern Daily Knitting, and almost didn’t enter the site because of it. I have grown to love the information, but not the name (and I really wish some consideration would be given to changing it). Here I have found beautiful yarns and patterns, joyful knitters engaging in knit-a-longs, and creative artists such as yourself to provide the inspiration a “follow the pattern” knitter like me needs. In this time of upheaval, with all of the hidden sins against people of color at long last being exposed to the world, it is the time to question where we stand in the pursuit of justice and liberty for all. If we cannot make this commitment, me for you, and you for me, then we are doomed as a country. The possibility that we might fail is enough to make one feel incapacitated, but we must hold to the thread of hope that we can stand together, one for the other, and maybe that thread is all we will need to get going once more on projects and designs that will be completed in a future that is more just and free than the one we are, and have been, living through for centuries. Godspeed.
Thank you, Dana. I see you.
Thank you so much for sharing. Your eloquence is moving.
I so appreciate your comment about the name, Modern Daily. It reminded me of comments people shared in a volunteer health initiative in which I was involved 20 years ago when I first moved to New Orleans. I’m white and grew up in a pretty lily white environment in the Midwest. New Orleans was, and I believe still is, a majority African American. Nevertheless, the African American volunteers would often talk about their perceptions of every day things they faced. Things, I would never have given a second thought about. It truly began to open my eyes. I think opening our eyes and being receptive to how others see things, is just the very beginning of our journey. But, it must be the place to start.
The name “Modern Daily” put me off too. I ignored this great resource for a long time because I felt like with that nomenclature, the people behind it would not be able to reach me. I only changed my impression when you teamed with them. I know little about you beyond your knitting, doglove, and the people in your IG feed. I do see a woman who has a great professional career, above-average grace, a sweet disposition, discipline and artistic eye, and someone it would be nice to know. I inly got in to IG as a refuge and a place to get lost in yarny goodness. IG has changed and even though it isnt always a peaceful place, I’m grateful to have expanded my own mind and to have deeper understanding. It puts me in the vanguard of a new wavd of the Civil Rights Movement. So much work is there to do!
I see you. And I’m listening to you. Thank you for sharing your story – not just your knitting story – but a bigger piece of your soul story.
Dana – it is my intent to use the correct words here – nothing I write is with malice. I am 67 y.o – lived in PG County until I was 23 – I will openly admit that I was taught prejudice. It was something that was passed down. With time and education I have learned how wrong that was – I remember in the late 60’s and early 70’s being troubled by it all – saying to my mother “I wish we could all just blend – mix the black and white skins and become gray or whatever the appropriate term would be, so that we could all be one people”. I have continued to learn about and still continue to learn about atrocities against black people and all people of color. In fact, I just learned about “workhouses” in London from the early 1900’s..All of this breaks my heart, and I am not sure how people survived it.I condone none of it. I have worked with many black people – and was happy to be their coworker – have black friends – but again, I will be honest – I do not have any idea of how it feels as a mother who has to worry when her son goes out and has to be afraid for his safety. I would like nothing more for us to live in a perfect world (not possible), but I do pray daily that everyone of us learn to love each other no matter what the color of our skin is – that we will be kind to each other – that we help each other and I also pray that we could get some politicians that thought that same way – that we could have leadership that wasn’t greedy and concerned with their own interests – leaders on down to the smallest job to live and make policy and enforce policy that is the best for every person on this planet.
Dana – I see you as a black woman – an educated black woman – successful woman – someday I would hope that all of us could delete the term black as a descriptive factor – if I was your coworker or if I was in your knitting group, I would call you my friend. I actually enjoy reading your column and seeing your work. I am not thinking of your color – I am looking at your interesting work – I remember you posting a picture outside your home – at least I think you did – because I remember looking at the picture, thinking about where it was located – going down memory lane – when I traveled in or near that area (oh how it has changed and grown). I enjoyed the memories.
Thank you Dana for your post.
Thank you Dana for writing this and at the same time I wish you didn’t have to, because the system has failed. We were placated with the idea of the country as a melting pot, but the American experiment was lopsidedly tilted to benefit a select few. All the rest of us need to recognize this and work to enact change.
I see you. Thank you for sharing your feelings.
I hear you. XOX
I see you and I hear you. Thank you for this column.
Thank you for sharing. I don’t know how to respond. I hear your fear and concern. I hear your pain about our society and how you are treated. I will try to make our society a better place before I leave this earth. Thank you for sharing your knitting, creativity and imagination. I have been so pleased to see you on Ravelry and Modern Daily Knitting. I worry that the public face of knitting is white. I have had an elementary school knitting club for three years in which the participants are of all races and genders. I hope that some of these kids continue to knit or find knitting again when they are adults.
I don’t know how you can even function right now. I’m doing everything I can to educate myself to be a true ally. You’re in my thoughts.
I see you. And you’re beautiful. I feel your pain and frustration. And I honestly don’t know how you can even bear all this pain- so thank you for sharing it with me. I’ll carry it now too. I pledge to you, as a white woman who’s heart is the exact same color as yours, that I will do all I can to ‘stand in the gap’ so this shit can quit happening, or so at least you don’t feel so alone when it dies. I won’t forget- I promise you this. With love to you…
God bless you Ms Williams-Johnson. Very well said and thought provoking. I surely hear you and see you. Again I say, God bless you!!
Thank you Dana. Ann and Kay please change the name of your business.
I see you and am holding your hand.
I see what you are saying.
Take care
I see you. I am listening.
Thank you for your words. I have many (jumbled) emotions reading your post, and no way to adequately express them. Blessings to you.
Thank you for this thoughtful post. I see you. And you have always been more than fabulous knits – you are also fabulous voice!
I see you and hear you, I love that you shared this and I hope finally we will see such needed change in the country and world wide. Thank you!
I see you, I hear you and I respect you.
Thank you. Your post expresses much of what I’ve feeling.
Hello Dana, thank you for sharing your time and energy here– I am so sorry for the pain you are living through each and every day and the heaviness of having to show up in a world founded upon white supremacy. I see you. I hear you. I am committed to being part of the change that dismantles white supremacy once and for all— today, and every day remaining to me. I am honored to meet you. I hope that your love of knitting and the comfort it brings to you will return, until then, may your spirit know ease and nurturance from other sources. I am listening deeply to what you have written here.
I see you, I see your pain, and I grieve and rage with you. I am learning more about the oppression crushing your people and I am fighting for justice with you. I am sorry I didn’t do more earlier. Thank you for sharing with us. You are a cherished member of this community and your humanity, not just your knitting, is valued.
Dana, I hope this outpouring of comments reaches you, and maybe reassures that so so so many of your fans, myself included, love to see your knitting — and see you. Thank you for writing this important piece, and for all your other joyful, loving posts about knitting.
Dana- I see you. I hear you. Thank you for writing this.
I see you; I have seen you, and I can do more. And I will.
Thank you, Dana
Dear Dana,
I’m a white woman. When I started following you – on Instagram, on Ravelry, subscribing to your emailings, watching Youtube, and here on MD (I don’t have a dog at this time and only recently knit a couple sweaters, but I’ve been following you for a while) – it was because I was drawn to your strength, your directness, your ability to be joyful and loving and your willingness to share that – and, of course, your love of dogs. I so look forward to your postings – all that knitting, and going to graduate school, and teaching, and never failing to keep up the sharing, and welcoming so many into your warm, inviting, home and life. Calling your postings “Yards of Happiness” said it all – what you looked for in life and what you offered others. It was inspiring and nuturing and fun – something to look forward to on a regular basis. I wasn’t colorblind – I always saw you were a Black Woman, well deserving of capitalizing the phrase, and I knew it made the beauty of your person and your actions even greater gifts to a world that has done little to deserve them. You have given so much to so many, I want to offer something back. This is inadequate but I hope it brings to you a fraction of the warmth and happiness you have given me. Thank you.
I see you, and hear you, Dana. Thank you for writing at this time of unbearable grief. You are not alone.
Thank you, Dana. Sending you love and support.
THANK YOU, DANA. <3
Keep speaking out Dana. I’m a black female knitter too. And I was drawn to this site because of your beautiful BLACK face on Ravelry. I had never seen another black knitter before. I’ve always knit in the midst of white people and I thought that’s what Ravelry was; A place where white women shared knitting community. I just wanted to knit so I participated anonymously.
You are a breath of fresh air. Thank you for speaking out. I have a black husband and black sons and daughters and too many times our struggle has been glossed over. The truth is we are dying and not by our own hands. I see you Dana❤️
Thank you for these raw, emotional columns. I need them. I need to be challenged.
Thank you for the bravery it took to write this. I see you. I’m fighting.
I see you. I really do. I hear you. I am grateful to you for writing your heart and your truth. This week I learned that I have a lot of work to do, and in the midst of all the pain I am committed to being part of the change.
Thank you
I had the same reaction when I first saw the name of the site, but seeing you on it is what initially helped me relax and join in. Thanks for being you.
I see you. I am angry, sad, distrustful, and everything else at the treatment of “others”. I had a good friend who was black. When we hung out together the difference in our treatments was astounding. Since then I want to “see” everyone. I come from a religiously blended family. Again bias was always around us, even though my parents were the best, especially in treating most people fairly. I wish that more and more people “see” each other as people and not by their skin tone, religion, gender and sexual identity. I hope that all people learn to be kind and caring of each other.
I see you.
I had the same reaction to the site name and YOU actually were part of why I am here. That you had a voice and a presence here made me give the site a space in my life.
Thank you for all that you do… and take care of yourself.
‘I see you.
I had the same reaction to the site name and YOU actually were part of why I am here. That you had a voice and a presence here made me give the site a space in my life.
Thank you for all that you do… and take care of yourself.’
Same here!!! The first time I found this site, the name made me really nervous. But I follow Yards of Happiness, and it linked me back here again, so I gave it another chance.
I wish everyone would realize whether you are black,white Mexican or Indian or whatever race you are you matter no matter what everybody matters.
Thank you very much for sharing your thoughts. Your pain is vivid, so is your joy (in knitting, your husband and your dogs). I hope the pain lessens by this country grasping the inequalities still too prevalent after so many years. I hope for profound changes to come out of this current episode. I promise you I will get a broader view of history and read about race. I must know more so I can do something effective. I can’t believe these issues continue. I cried when I was a little girl for the brave little children who were led into segregated schools so many years ago. Today, I see your picture here with that same face. Brave and scared. It is real. It is palpable. It is crushing. Hope and prayers.
Dana, I see you. I see a beautiful, powerful, well-educated, well-spoken, talented and multi-faceted Black Woman. You are amazing and inspirational to me and I celebrate all you are. Sometimes I am timid around my black sisters, afraid to offend, terrified I’ll unconsciously hurt or assert my unacknowledged white privilege. I always try to treat all humans humanely and with compassion, but am trying harder to be really aware. Thank you for your post and for opening our eyes to what we have overlooked.
I feel your pain and I see you. I hear the pain in your words. May the love & respect of us all carry you through these troubles times.
I see you and you are a beautiful, passionate, sensitive, and talented woman. I wish you and your family good health, happiness and peace. If you lived in Michigan, I’d give you a big hug even with this covid19 hampering our lives. Take care.
Francine
I see you. I can not know your pain, but I send you my love and support. And a pledge to SEE all through eyes that are open.
I know what these past three years, three months, and the previous two weeks have done to me. I cannot even begin to imagine what it has done to you.Thank you for your honesty. Please keep talking to the rest of us. I don’t give a damn about any economic gains, real or imagined, this administration may have made. They don’t even begin to come close to atoning for the damage they have caused by increasing pretty much any and all cultural divides in our culture. They don’t begin to atone for what they have done to our collective psyche. I agree wholeheartedly with Rev. Al Sharpton’s words in his eulogy for George Floyd yesterday: it is time for America to acknowledge it has been kneeling on the necks of African Americans for centuries and it is time to stop! It is time to push back at those who think it’s okay to limit the freedoms and choices of any group of people. I pray we maintain our democratic republic through the upcoming election cycle and the inauguration of the next administration. Please vote in November, don’t refuse to vote because you don’t like either choices from the two major parties. Please vote to get us to the next level of dialogue and change. Please vote so we can get back to a state of knitting just for the sheer pleasure of knitting rather than knitting as a coping mechanism to get through tumultuous times.
Spending you a warm and woolly hug from the other side of the world. Hoping you eventually find it in your heart to pick up your needles and bring more of your colourful knits into our sometimes bleak reality.
Much love Dana
I see you. I hear you. I stand with you. I will listen to you. Please keep talking. I want to hear more.
Thank you
Dear Prof. Dana, I’ve made a donation to Howard University, because I see you not only as an inspiration to us knitting people, but an inspiration to the young people who are striving to get an education despite all obstacles. As a female PhD who bailed out of academia, I see your courage in staying and being a role model. As a brown immigrant, I’ve seen much welcome and acceptance from black brothers and sisters.
Thank you Dana, I am an African American woman and I too have not been able to knit. You capture my feelings with your words
Shavetta Conner
Don’t cry…l was berated by a white Supervisor many yrs ago….l said l didn’t understand what all the carrying on was about because on the inside…..we are all the same, it’s just the outside that looks different. As a result l have been told l am disconnected…but am l, really?
Yes. Consider others not just your own ideas. Read, look listen and learn.
Yes, it’s about listening to the experts. We’re living in two different worlds, and one of them isn’t in the least fair or safe. It’s on us, White people, who are the beneficiaries of the other, to change things.
Marijane, in the most loving way I can, I say yes, you are disconnected. It’s so easy for us white people to be disconnected, to see the ultimate truth that all people are one, but not see the profoundly awful truth that in our society, being white means having privilege and dominance. What do I mean? I don’t have to worry that when a (white) man I love walks down the street he’ll be considered a likely danger to others. I don’t have to worry that someone might call the police because he’s wearing clothes that someone finds scary. I’m not suspected of having gotten my job or my admission to an elite college without deserving that place. And those are relatively mild examples of being privileged.
Most of us white people have spent little time thinking about themselves as white people or have thought of themselves as good-hearted people who decry racism. It’s painful to realize that we don’t see that our society is built on whiteness being the norm and non-whiteness meaning the “other” who therefore is thought of and treated as an outsider who need to comply with the white norm.
For me, that’s the tough part. I can feel that racism is a horror–as you do, too, I think–but if I don’t act as a white person working pull down a social framework that makes us the norm that gets to define what’s right, then I am passively letting what is unjust stay in place. And that makes our society as a whole an infinitely poorer, dangerous place to live in.
Thank you so much for your words. May we continue to fight against the injustices and prejudices inherent in our systems to bring about much-needed change. I hope you feel like knitting again soon, but know that we’re here for you whether or not you do. Peace and love.
Thank you. I support you in any way I can.
You raise valid questions.
I’m certain I would be screaming for justice for you & am equally certain I would approach your husband to ask about his sweater. Still, I cannot be certain I feel the same fears & doubts that you feel & will not minimize your perspective by saying that I do. Please know that I admire you enormously. You & I have things in common. I pray for all of us.
I am so glad you are here, Dana — here on MDK, here in the fiber community, here on the planet. I am sorry for my and my ancestors’ complicity in building and maintaining systemic white supremacy. Your voice and your soul are a mitzvah upon humanity, and I vow to do everything I can to support and protect it.
I see you. I support you. I pray that we can overcome this blight on America and treat all people the same no matter their skin color, religion, income level.
Sad that so many readers, myself among them, have benefited from this site’s information, activities and products, but have waited until now to come forward with how uncomfortable the MD moniker has made us…. We need to ask ourselves why it has taken so long to speak out, and speak up.
Dana, I hear you, I see you and I hurt for you. And all of the people hurt by the actions of an oppressive society.
Thank you Dana for sharing your honest feelings. We are all one race, the human race. I pray for anyone who has experienced racism against their own race to not stereotype that entire race just because someone from that race displayed racism. Two things I know for sure are that humans have magnifying minds whatever we focus on becomes the biggest thing in our lives. so now the magnifying glass is on racism. May we all look to find a way to better our society in that regard. The other thing I know for sure is that when you point your finger at someone else do you have two fingers pointing back at yourself. May we redirect our thinking to change our own behavior before we try to correct that in others.
About the name–I’ve noticed the tag line on the website is now “Modern Daily Knitting.” I would like to see Ann and Kay address this directly and not just sidle up to a new name. Own up to an unfortunate choice early on and then CHANGE IT!
And DWJ, I love you and your chihuahua.
Hi Heidi,
We’re not sidling, I promise. Our announcement comes in tomorrow’s Snippets and on our site this Monday. We are changing our name as fast as we can, and that first change just happened this afternoon.
Sincerely,
Ann
Will you put your money where your mouth is and change the domain name?
Please respect that this is a transition in which Ann and Kay may not have full control over the timing of everything they’re trying to do. I’m thrilled they’ve taken the first steps and have faith they will continue the process.
Thank goodness. I am an old white woman and every time I visit your site I have to overcome the repulsion of that name to try and focus on the knitting. I cannot believe anyone would be so insensitive as to use this name but I applaud you for finally getting it and taking action.
You are a stupid old white woman if something like a knitting site is name “repulses” you.. grow up, there are real issues that people face.. of cause unless they are entitled old liberals
YAY!!
I’ve been trying to make my own self take actions and not just write platitudes. It’s not easy.
Dana, I seldom comment on posts, but I want you to know that I support you. I lived the majority of my life in the Dakotas (South and North). There are not a lot of Black people there, so race was never an issue. People were just people and skin color wasn’t an issue. A few years ago I moved to TN and realized that skin color mattered to some people. I still don’t understand it because it still doesn’t matter to me, but I understand that it matters to some people. I am sorry for that because those people miss so much. I hope that knitting will soothe you soon.
Hi, Bea! As an Upper Midwest resident, I respectfully and lovingly ask you to re-examine your experience of life in the Dakotas. The earliest, most virulent racism I was exposed to was against the Native Americans living in those states. The systemic injustices of life on and off the reservations are another blight on our country. Thank you for considering this perspective.
I see you Dana – a person with a beautiful heart and an important message who happens to be a talented knitter. ❤️
Thank you. I appreciate you sharing even a little of how things are for you right now. My heart is so broken about how things are in this country these days, and our full history, but my skin is white so I also know that I can’t fully fathom the true depth of horror.
People of color are also dying of COVID-19 at higher rates than whites, another tragedy of our institutionalized racism.
I am still staying home and I will be for a long time, despite politically motivated reopenings happening everywhere. It makes me sad not to attend the protests. I’m going to use my time to read, and re-read, some books on American racism, oppression, I’ve also got a couple books on Nazism. I’m not knitting, though it has been my daily relaxation for the last decade. It’s up to me to get educated as much as I can. And for this reason, I am that much more appreciative of your willingness to share a bit of your experience here.
I see you and hear you and offer to share a little of your pain. I cannot totally understand, but I have been on that journey for many years and am happy to say I see people of all colors marching in the street these past days and nights. I was in Washington DC for the 1968 marches and that was not the case, but this obscenity committed against a Black man and thankfully videoed has hopefully begun a new day. I pray that you will be helped, if not healed, very soon so you can find true release in your beautiful knitting again. If I see the post is one of yours I turn to this blog immediately. I enjoy it all, but you are the best! Be safe and be well.
Thank you, Dana. I’ll remember.
Dana,
Powerful words, difficult words, spoken honestly and from the heart. From your heart to my heart, and the hearts of so many others, I am sure. And if your heart is telling you that now is not the time to knit, you must follow your heart. I know it will know when the time’s right for you to knit again.
Namaste.
Diane
Dear Diana,
Not to split hairs, but the term ‘namaste’ is not used as anything but a greeting. While I realize that white people like the word, please respect the millennia of culture behind it and use it only when greeting a person or God. The act of bowing with your hands together is appropriate for saying goodbye, but the word is not.
– Saumya
Dear Saumya,
Out of respect, I did look up the word prior to using it here. Unfortunately, Wikipedia reported that it is used as a greeting and also when saying good bye. I just looked it up again, and now see that there are places where they said only the gesture (not the word) is used when saying good bye, but other places, it looked as if they were saying that the word itself could be used for both. It was very subtle, though and did not place the importance on the use, as you have here, so whoever wrote that was uninformed. I was interested to see, however that they also reported that it is often used at the end (and start) is yoga sessions.
My reason for looking it up was that I have seen the word said so often by folks who I know don’t use it with any regularity, kind of pretentious, you know? I have not liked that. To me, it was like when I see folks who always have used fork, knife, and spoon eating utensils suddenly insist on using chop sticks just because they are having Chinese food. One definition that I found was “I bow to the divine in you”. Other definitions that I found: “my soul recognizes your soul”, “I now to the place in you that is love, light, joy”, and “I honor the place in you that is the same as it is in me”. You see, I did no really mean it to be a greeting or a leave taking expression. So for that reason, I should have placed it in the body of my message, rather than at the end. However, I see now that would have been wrong, too. I simply wished to say to Dana that I see her, that my heart heard the words from her heart, and that I learned from her, too. Saumya, I have learned my lesson. From now on, I will use my own language to say what I want to say.
By the way Saumya, you mentioned your realization that white people liked the word. Since I don’t remember meeting you, and since these comments are not conveyed via face time, I wonder how you can be sure of my race. I urge you to consider why you made that statement. I was born in a country of many races, so natives of my country that speak only my language could have made the same mistake, while not being white. I keep to myself pretty much, but there have been times when I have been the recipient of a racist comment or treatment. I have definitely and hurtfully been judged based on my color.
When writing my name, you called me “Diana”, not Diane, which is how I spell my name. Diane is my identity, which for personal reasons in my history is very precious to me. Would there be any point in saying to you that you must be a foreigner because only foreigners call me Diana? No. Would there be a point in telling you that when they do call me “Diana”, I understand and generally do allow it. After all, Diana was a goddess.
-Diane
I’m not sure if any non-black POC has spoken up yet. We too have no idea what it is to be black in today’s America. We worry in a general way about our sons, but not in the way black mothers and fathers do. This must stop.
George Floyd was murdered in my city for simply existing. Minneapolis is making changes to ensure this never happens again. The entire country must make changes. GiGi Floyd said “My daddy changed the world.” We must fulfill what she said.
I feel your pain and I walk with you.
I see you and I hear you. ❤️
Thank you for articulating exactly how I feel.
Thank you. Thank you for writing this. I see you. I see you through my tears, I cry for your hurt, your pain. I will read, I will watch and listen, I will have those conversations. Thank you.
I see you. I appreciate you sharing your column.
I know it’s a minor point in your overall message, and one you said doesn’t cause you offense, however I also had a negative reaction to the name Modern Daily Knitting when I first learned of it and didn’t visit the site until after seeing the owners present at the recent virtual VKL. I recently wanted to recommend a book on the site to a friend but the name stuck in my throat.
Dana, thanks for this post. I discovered Modern Daily Knitting through discovering a Modern Daily Knitting book on the shelf at the Borders Bookstore, and promptly put the book back on the shelf. I was really worried about what I’d see there, and as a black knitter, I had already seen and felt enough. I’m glad following you has made me come to this website and see what is really going on – and enjoy seeing some who looks like me have a featured post each month. Blessings.
I feel you my sister — your words are powerfully real. If it wasn’t for your pleasant milk chocolate face wearing the really cute glasses, I would have passed on the Modern Daily Knitting sit for the same reasons as you. Because of you, I will give it a chance. Thank you for saying what many feel and were unable to express. Peace my sister, Peace
Thank you Dana for your thoughts, feelings and words so well spoken. I am a white woman so, I can not totally understand your feelings. However, I think most American women listen because we have all been dismissed, diminished and discarded. We are still discounted in our salaries.
We all need to open dis ussions regarding racial inequalities and malice including abuse and brutality.
The privileges white men have had that exclude those of color and women must end.
Before, another tragedy occurs let us embrace change and each other as equals in our country founded on freedom and equality for all!
Thank you so much for using this forum for your post. People need to hear this! I live in Canada and there is definitely racism here.
Thank you hardly covers it. I’m sorry, vastly less so. I can do SO much better – that’s a promise.
Dana, thank you for your honesty. As a privileged white woman, old enough to have marched for civil rights in the 60’s, I’m devastated that despite all these years our country is still teaming with racial hatred. I value the intelligent, creative and generous person you are and you can count on me to stand by you. I am speaking up, donating and continuing to educate myself. I hope others will join me.
Goodness, thank you-for all you do-educating our nation’s best and brightest…speaking this important truth even when difficult times require it…creating beauty with your needles. We need to push this country to meet its lofty self proclaimed goals, and we need to do it now.♥️
Thank you.
I see you. I hear you. I care.
Dear Dana,
Thank you for sharing your heart, how very brave of you. I see you and I worry about your husband’s safety too.
There are big things to be done but there are small things too. I am white mom of a 19 year old daughter from Guatemala. She has the most beautiful brown skin and gorgeous black hair & eyes. I have had to have hard talks with her, naming & acknowledging racism she has experienced. My mom heart has broken for her and I wanted to attack people that treated her rudely. I have had to warn her to be careful in certain situations.
But pay attention to the small signs of racism in your world too. It is pervasive once you start to look. Notice the color of band-aids & bras & underwear named nude. They don’t match my daughter’s skin. I had to search for dolls that looked like her when she was little, thank goodness for American Girl dolls. I had to search out Christmas wrapping paper & tree toppers that had angels that looked like my daughter. It took a long time. I have art in my home that features people of color, made by people of color, do you? I searched to find women of color to be her doctors. Start looking at the world around you and notice all the colors that are missing.
I wrote to Modern Daily Knitting a while ago, respectfully requesting more people of color featured on MDK. I was disappointed, Ann & Kay, that I received no response.
Thank you. I see you. Your words are with me.
I see you and thank you for speaking up. My heart is broken but I am grateful for your voice.
I see you. You are beautiful and wise. I respect you and thank you for giving us your perspective.
I hear you and would love to just sit and knit with you and Jellybean. Take care.
I see you. I see my kids’ friends whom I worry about as they head off to college and into adulthood. I’m knitting really simple things this week because it’s so hard to focus, and right now one of them is a school colors hat for one of my daughter’s dearest friends, who is moving to Chicago for school (we live in SoCal— he’ll need a hat), and I worry about him. I can’t even imagine what his parents must live with— and that’s the problem, isn’t it? They shouldn’t have to worry any more than I do about my child. Our realities should be the same, and they’re not. I ramped up my reading and learning and donating and political action in 2016, and teaching my kids to be anti-racist, and trying to improve, and I’ll keep doing it. Now more than ever.
I hope you find peace. I hope that the failures to enforce equal rights after the Civil War will be remedied these 150 plus years later. I hope police departments and local governments seriously address culture problems that exist and strengthen policies to remove bad actors on the force before they cause harm. May right prevail.
Thank you for sharing yourself; God bless you!
Thank you for posting Dana and I see and hear you. I have been heartbroken of what is happening and that in the 21st century, we haven’t had a real conversation about the systemic racism that is still in our country. Hopefully, this is different and we’ll be able to change policies. It is pretty pathetic when Rand Paul tried to delay the Anti-lynching bill.
Know that I am actively working on making this country and world better. I speak out and will use my vote to make changes.
I see you and hear you. And I thankyou.
Thank you for your post Dana. In UK people think there is no racism, but it is institutionalised, in the police, education, courts and government. It is not even subtle – scores of black citizens being deported or having to report to immigration like a criminal for not having the right documents (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windrush_scandal)
People don’t even protest and vote in the same government. I wish I could say something hopeful, but I despair.
God bless you and thank you for your post that spells things out so clearly.
I see you. I hear you. Thank you.
Dear Dana, thank you so much for sharing this, I know it couldn’t have been easy. I see and hear you, and hope to keep learning to be a better ally. MDK, thank you for changing your name. I know that couldn’t have been easy either. I was never comfortable with it, and I am white, so I can imagine how excluded people of color may have felt. Small changes combine to make up big changes. May the change go on.
I will never really know what it feels like to be black in this society. I’m trying to educate myself with books suggested by friends of all colours, and hoping the tide is at the turning point.
Dana. Thank you. I see you and am sad for your pain.
Thank you for being you – I embrace your spirit, your being and your wisdom xXx
Thank you so much for sharing. The knitwear, ánd the sparkle in your eyes, combined with your great sense of humor for your dog(s) is what drew my attention to you in the first place! I read, watched, and was amazed by your talent. I started following you.
And now I just read your words. I hear you. I totally don’t know how it feels (white, living in the Netherlands, racism here also).
I do know fear. It keeps your body on a continious alert. Having ears and eyes open at all time.
I pray for you, and all black people for a time of no fear at all.
To bring sparkle back in your eyes, not for a moment, but from a heart filled with peace, healed from fear, anger and sadness.❣️
Dana, thank you. I have also been the only black woman in the room – in fact, many rooms. Your blog has been a source of inspiration, and frankly, joy. Knitting has been difficult for me during the pandemic, and now, the killings have just gutted me. I am praying that some of the small changes that I am seeing will continue and grow so that my five year old granddaughter won’t have to experience being the only black woman in the room, worrying about her loved ones when they leave the house.
I see you. I hear you. I support you.
Thank you. I appreciate the courage it takes to share this. I have been blind. But now I see.
Thank you, Dana. I see you.
I see and hear you! Thank you for your words; they have been a gift of enlightenment and call to action for so many. Pulling us out of complacency.
❤️
Dana thank you so much for your beautiful, heartfelt words. I do see you, and hear you, and love you.
All of us who have been moved by your words can use this opportunity to expand our understanding of racism in America in order to get beyond the idea that it is built in to us genetically (it is not) and therefore cannot be overcome (it most certainly can). No matter where you may be on the spectrum of that opinion, I can recommend a resource that really helps unpack attitudes of white privilege that so many of us don’t acknowledge or understand that we have.
The podcast “Scene on Radio”, is available from your podcast app of choice. There are four seasons of episodes. The second season is called “Seeing White”. It explores the roots of the invention of white supremacy and its establishment as the base of power as America was becoming a country. It follows white supremacy through the chapters of our history, showing how it has been used to consolidate power among a very few. These are all facts that are either omitted entirely or lipsticked over in the history we learned in school and still teach today.
“Race” is a concept without a basis in scientific fact. But “racism” is a political and cultural reality that poisons our society. We need to understand how we got here and then use that knowledge to reimagine and build a different future.
Dana, from the bottom of my heart to the tippy top of my heart, I reach out to you and your family with love. I wish I could make the pain less or our country more, but I cannot do it alone. Just know that in my heart I am standing next to you with my support. ❤️
Such an important word. Thank you for sharing. Standing in the gap.
I love everything you do Dana. I am so lucky to have you in my life if only virtually. I am so proud of Ann and Kay for changing the name of their site to be more inclusive.
Dear Dana, Just to let you know, I have always seen YOU and been in awe of the energy, color sense, and sheer brilliance behind your beautiful creations. That a college professor of your caliber has so much energy left over to knit and blog is incredible—and a gift to all of us.
Thank you for speaking your truth. You are an amazing woman.
I see you, Dana.
Dana, thank you so much for you eye-opening message from the heart. As a lifelong Ohioan, I had no clue the MDK name could be offensive. I am now humbled at how much I don;t know. I am a 68 year old white physician and knitter. The physician in me knows that all of us are the same on the inside; only skin pigment is the variable. I have never understood why people don’t get that. I see people of color and whites, immigrants from Africa and Latin America in the urban free clinic where I volunteer. Each is a treasure with their own story. i am thinking about the analogy of individual knitting stitches coming together to create something beautiful. May we be such. Dana, I see you and ask our loving God, who made each one of us uniquely, to give you peace.
Oh WOW! Hi Dana that was powerful and good, I live in the United Kingdom, and when I first saw about George Floyd on Monday I was so shocked, I am a Christian who tries to be a good Christian, I did also appreciate what you was saying, this Planet is now very crazy, violence everywhere there should be Peace and Love between everyone, in the 80’s when my Daughter was small I taught her that it doesn’t matter what colour you are, black, white,yellow, fat, thin as long as you have a good heart that’s all that matters. She has turned out to be a Wonderful Daughter, Mother and Partner. She is mixed raced, her Partner is Black, my Grandchildren are mixed race and that makes me very proud. I always pray for peace. Lets let it happen. All of those officers that day should be punished and sent to Prison and a message to all Police Officers in America, United Kingdom and everywhere else STOP THE BRUTALITY. PLEASE.
Dana, thank you for opening your heart and thoughts to us.
Thank you for your beautiful writing, for sharing your beautiful knitting and thank you for showing your beautiful self.
Thank you, Dana. I see you.
I have always enjoyed the spirit of the woman in your photos. You shine through. Then I learned who you were, another person obtained an education then worked to bring up those coming after you. I see your face and feel happy. Your creations make me happy. You have made my world, while I love on the other side of this continent, a better place.
This is a very powerful message. Thank you for sharing. You lifted yet another veil on words and their meaning. Mason DIxion Line, always seemed somewhat romantic to me, a west coaster, but now I can just start to understand your associative pain from hearing it. It is not enough for me to just contribute money to aid and assist POC, you are correct, I need to read, to learn, to speak out to friends, to family, to strangers when I see and hear injustice.
Thank you again.
White supremacy is abhorrent be that in the US where it is institutionalised from history to here in the UK today and lets face it the Great British Empire was little different! Shameful where ever it was and is in the world.
As a teen Brit I remember the race riots, had many a row with my Dad, a policeman, who was racist.
Little has changed for you in some states that’s for sure and that orange chap in the Whitehouse does nothing to bring communities ( or countries) together so I can only stand with you at a distance.
But know this please, I do SEE you and the many black people who live with subconscious and concious mistrust and fear every day of their lives.
Your ‘normal’ we can never fully understand but by hell, many of us empathise and wish for change, for you and humanity itself.
If those knitting needles normally bring you solace and fun, then pick them u again soon, despite the situation please.
Don’t let it/them win by removing the good things in life that you love or enjoy.
HUGS from up in Yorkshire, UK
Well said…..I can’t imagine what you are feeling but am honoured to read your expression of it. I send you peace and love.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts and feelings and helping us understand how you feel. Life has been so painful this year. I pray for you and all of us to make life better to live in.
Let’s knit together as family
Too much is on your shoulders and that of Black America. Thank you for your heart and eloquence — I’m sorry the world demands it of you. I’m with you and I see you. ❤️
Thank you for your voice. It matters!
Thank you,XO
Thank you for writing so honestly and revealing another part of yourself.
Dana, you have already started to make a positive change with your words as you have with with your knitting. Be safe.
Thank you so much for this reflection. Working every day to do better. We must do better as a country. We must.
Thank you for sharing the depth of your thoughts so openly. I see you and hear you and I am so worried for you and trying to help.
Thank you for sharing. I’m listening and learning.
Hi Dana. I understand. I am a black woman with a black husband and two adult black children. Our son has not gone out for a run in weeks, and it is not just the coronavirus that concerns him. He is overcome with fear and anxiety. This is not right. This atmosphere black people live in is not healthy for our hearts, our bodies and our souls. I, too am very sad. My heart is heavy and my soul is so burdened. I continue to knit quietly, by myself, away from zoom meetings and text groups. I don’t want the chatter right now. I continue to cook, clean, garden, trying desperately to find some tiny degree of peace and clarity in my mind. My wish is for all of us, everyone in this country, of all colors to learn and understand and do what it is we need to do to move on out of all this pain.
Love to you.
Thank you, Dana.
Thank you.
I don’t know you Dana and honestly I don’t even knit. But I came here to tell you I hear you. Thank you for taking the time to speak when you are completely and utterly exhausted and disappointed. I will do better.
In all of this, I think the example you give of the treatment of the two different groups of protesters is the most glaringly hard to ignore. One group shows up heavily armed to decry their loss of freedom to get a haircut because it protects public health. And another shows up unarmed to protest murder in broad daylight, yet only one of these groups is labeled terrorists. What could be a more obvious example of the inherent bias in society?
I just don’t know, America. I just don’t know.
I see you, Dana. I hear you.
When I moved from Berkeley, CA, to Aiken, SC, I flummoxed my realtor. I refused to look at houses in gated communities (I heard the dog whistle about who was being gated out) and I refused to look at houses in a development with Plantation on the sign at the entrance (I read nostalgia for an economy built on slavery). She figured I was from Berzerkeley.
But she sold me a house downtown, and I went to work for an African-American manager for the first time in my career. A boss who did what a boss should do—encouraged me, gave me opportunities, constructively criticized my work products, took me to lunch on my birthday, and ran interference with the bureaucracy above her.
That said, I have no problem with Modern Daily Knits or with the Dixie Chicks, either. Those, in my mind, are references to geography
This is a cogent, touching article. I and we (my fellow citizens) have much to learn. Thank you for helping to open my eyes. My heart is with you, your husband, and the entire black community.
Gobsmacked. I’m currently confronting my own privilege. I have loved MDK from the way back, and not once did it ever occur to me how the reference to a Civil War era demarcation line could elicit negative feelings from someone. Somebody who has to carry a very painful burden of our wickedness, and then on top of that, has to do the work of eradicating my ignorance. Dear Dana, I apologize. Thank you for educating me. I will do better. And thank you to Ann and Kay for releasing the name of a business you took years to cultivate, and making it into an even more positive safe space for knitters. Today I am proud of this community.
Extremely well said. Thank you for pointing out that the Modern Daily knitting nae would be offensive. I initially found it off-putting but I’m a northern girl and thought I was overreacting. I asked my Southern husband he thought about it and agreed. It’s starting difficult conversations and listening to opinions is where we start to change. So thank you for your honesty and openness.
Thank you, Dana. I stand with you. You are not alone.
I see you. My heart breaks for you. I am so angry right now. I want the violence and distrust to stop. The systematic and personal racism must be dismantled and ended.
Dana, Thank you for letting us see more of you than your knitting projects and
talent and enthusiasm. I have loved reading your writing and seeing your knitting
projects. Your risk-taking, being vulnerable with us is a very powerful experience
for us and for you. You have already had our respect, our delight in your creativity and humor. I pray that you will continue to share with us, educate us,
help us to grow in understanding our world and each other. Those strands of
yarn are just symbols of the connections we can have if we, like you, are brave enough to risk the vulnerabilities.
Bravo- absolutely excellent. Thank you!
Thanks for taking the time to put together this important post Dana!
It can’t have been easy to write but it will help many (see over 500 comments already!)
Thanks to MDK for being the change they want to see – and pointing their many readers to resources, organizations, and ways to make change.
I guess the phrase voting with one’s chequebook needs to be updated, since we just wave our credit cards these days, but I am sending donations to community organizations here in Toronto. Sending emails to my elected representatives.
Canada can not be complacent about racism.
Thank you
Thank you Dana.
Thank you for your comments. I’m white but I have grandchildren with Haitian heritage. I worry about them, especially the young grandsons, and how vulnerable they are in our society. I also did not follow MDK because of the name. for a long time. I’m from the west and it took me a while to look beyond what I considered negative connotations and look at content. Like you, I am so upset with the current events that I’m having trouble knitting what I usually knit.
I see you.
Thank you Dana this was very well said!!!! I agree whole-heartly.
Beautiful writing, beautiful woman and beautiful sweater! <3 I am in awe of the name change. Where some people claim history is being erased, I see us moving forward. Moving forward and not erasing history but finally evolving and learning from it. Thank you, MDK for listen to Dana and others! Thank you for being welcoming and inclusive. <3
I see you and I stand with you. And i am committed to helping bring the change our country desperately needs. Hope you can find your way back to knitting soon.
Dear Dana I see you and I hear you. So happy MD have changed their name . I live in the twin cities so the peaceful marches and the clean up are ongoing by all races with children involved . great teaching moments for them. I hope you get back to knitting and designing soon . we need you. Our needles are weapons of construction. prayers
Hi Dana,
I see and have great respect for you whenever you post on MDK or IG or Yards of Happiness, and I hope its not too presumptious to say that I feel like I know you a little. I see you as a hardworking professor and in your office on campus wearing a vibrant handknit every day that your students admire. I see you at home with a loving husband and precious Bean knitting and working on your own graduate degree. I definitely am a fangirl, I share your posts occasionally with my daughter who loves your photos and creativity. I hear you and see you and I’m working on doing anything I can to improve this sick and prejudiced country we live in.
I see you and hear you, Dana. I can only imagine the daily grief and terror of bring Black in America. Thank you for writing this.
Thank you, Dana. And thank you, MDK for changing your name. I know your intent in the original MasonDixon name was not racist, but even as a white woman, it felt like a ‘we/us’ thing. We are all ‘we.’
Dana,
Thank you for sharing. Your words are profound and heartfelt and give us all much to think about and act on.
Mary Ann
Dana,
Thank you for this article. All I have to say is, “Amen.”
I see you and I thank you. I am brand new to this page. Your beautiful, confident smile and the rainbow of colors on your glasses and sweater, drew me in. I look forward to seeing you again.
Thank you, Dana, for putting yourself squarely in front of me. I see you and hear you. I know it’s not your responsiblity to educate me, so I truly appreciate your effort and sharing. Thank you.
Thank you for this well done and thoughtful post. I am a white woman who has admired you since I started reading your blog. I love your knitting but I always knew there was alot more about you that I wanted to learn about. Please continue knitting but I would enjoy seeing more than knitting content in your posts. You are a smart thoughtful person who has more to offer us in your blog.
Thank you for sharing this, helping me see you.
Hello Dana. Thank you for writing this. I see you.
Thank you for your poignant words.
I’ve always seen the you in your beautiful creations. You have a gift for merging persons and things. Keep that energy vibrant!
Dear Dana, I’m white and almost 70. I am a Yankee by birth and consider myself a progressive/liberal type. But I am learning how much I haven’t known, nor needed to know in my insulated world. I’ve been listening to the “1619” podcast from The New York Times and have ordered the book _White Fragility_. I’m ashamed of my benign ignorance and I will do better. I know an apology is pretty lame but I am sorry. And I will act in ways to end the utter hypocrisy of all we have been.
Dana, I see you, I hear you. Thank you for opening your heart to us.
I see you and vow to speak up when I see injustice to people of color or “different “ doing the normal things we enjoy. They should be able to shop, run or drive without being followed! Be safe, feel peace!
Thank you Dana! I live in NY but lived in the DC area for 30 years and always understood the meaning behind the mason-dixon line and when I joined this site I thought it was a strange, off putting name also. I’m happy that Ann and Kay have change the name.
I see you, hear you and stand with you!
I see you, and I am listening.
Thank you for being so open and sharing yourself with us.
I have admired you for years and I hear you and I stand with you
Thank you for sharing yourself, so that I may learn.
I see you. Moreover, I hope I see me and continue to learn to recognize when I, as a white person, am not recognizing my privilege and working to change that.
Thank you for sharing your words and letting us see your pain. I will keep listening.
From Madison Wisconsin where demonstrating has been educating me further about ethnic groups. Progress is seeing peaceful demonstrators of all colors, knowing that so many people , young and old, care. I never liked the original title and am so glad you changed. And I am age 85 and white.
I see you and hear your eloquent voice. Thank you. ✨
Thank you, Dana. You express yourself beautifully and help us all stand in your shoes and see through your eyes,
I’m not black or even a knitter. I thought that treating everyone with respect and fairness was enough. I realize it isn’t. If we want this country to be what it should be, we all have to actively be anti-racist. We have to be willing to have the hard and uncomfortable conversations that acknowledge a systemic problem. We have to stop enabling hatred.
I’m conflicted about leaving a comment, but not because I disagree with anything you wrote (I agree 100%,).
I’m conflicted because, on the one hand, I don’t want to make this about me. Comments on a blogpost are easy, quick; taking long-term action, now and in the future, requires commitment and dedication. But to demonstrate or describe that commitment in a venue like this runs the risk of virtue signaling — and once again making the story all about me. It’s not. Not at all (except for my having been on the beneficiary side of this systemic racism equation).
But as a gay white man in his 50s who lived through and participated in the gay rights and AIDS activism movements of the 1980s and beyond, I have never forgotten the ACT UP slogan, “Silence = Death.” For black, brown, indigenous and other people of color, that phrase remains horribly, stunningly true.
So I choose to continue to speak up. And act up. Past, present, and future. My role, my impacts are only that of a single person… but I hope they will be added to the millions of other actions — and yes, words, because they also matter — of people across this country. So that we can all live, and knit, together.
Dana, thank you for sharing your pain at this time. We white people need to hear more of this. I’ll be holding your words in my heart in the coming months.
Lisa Pasto-Crosby
Thank you for sharing your feelings, so that we can better understand white privilege.
I see you. And I hear you. Thank you.
Thank you for posting this. I hope we can make the systemic change in this country so that we can all feel like knitting again. I expect that we have to keep the pressure up for the foreseeable future. Hope we get there, for all of our sakes because the alternative is unthinkable.
I see you. I hear you. I am trying to do better. Be well.
Thank you for taking the time to write and for putting yourself out for criticisms. It does make a difference and has helped me to understand just a bit more.
So beautifully written. Thank you, Dana. We are watching horrified from the UK.
Hello from Canada. Tomorrow there is a peaceful action in my city. I will join others as they lay down on the sidewalks for all to comprehend. I am not an activist, but, Dana, I will be thinking of you.
I see you Dana. I hear you. I support you.
Thank you
Dana,
Thank you for having the willingness to show up here-right now. I’m listening.
Tiffanie
I see you Dana. I hear you. I support you. ❤
Dear Dana, thank you for this column and for your work making yourself more visible. Leading by example.
Thank You Dana.
Thank you, Dana. What wise words and important considerations you have shared with us. My strongest intention for future activism is anti-racist intersectionality with all else that I support and hold dear. I see today that Ann and Kay have changed MDK to Modern Daily Knitting – a wonderful reaction and I hope the start of many changes in the knitting world and beyond.
Thank you Dana.
I am a university lecturer in Michigan and I have been trying to deal with these issues in my own, sometimes fumbling, way. Our student body is mostly white, working- and middle-class and come from mostly homogeneous communities. Thank you for sharing your feelings. I hope that this moment will truly help move the nation forward to a real reckoning with our brutal past. It won’t be easy and getting all white people to comprehend our white privilege will be tough, but it is too necessary and we cannot let this moment pass.
As white grandmother of a black teenaged boy I thank you. You said it all.
I am listening. Thank you for your column. While I am sad and ashamed to be from the Minneapolis area where police have killed many black residents in the recent past including George Floyd, I am praying and hopeful that we are serving as the catalyst, finally, for profound change.
Thank you Dana. May I never not see, not hear, not listen again, for I am sure I have been guilty of these. Never deliberately, but my passive ignorance is no longer an option. I’m sorry it has taken so long. I see you, I hear you, I will listen.
My heart just hurts for you and I want you to know that I don’t understand the true depth of your pain BUT I cry because you hurt..
Thank you for you revealing yourself to us. I see you. I hear you. As a daily knitter my heartaches that you can’t knit which reveals your anguish. White sisters and brothers it is time to take a stand. We must speak up! Now!
Dana, Thank you for opening yourself up to us. Listening and learning, Amy Bell
I see you, Dana. I see YOU, and wish it were possible to meet up and knit together one day…
I see you, I respect you as a fellow human being, and I am so sorry for your suffering.
Dana, thank you for writing this. Your words, so eloquent and honest, feel like a gift to me. By sharing this you’ve shined a light on the miasma of guilt and unease and good intentions that has been all too easy to ignore. Thanks for helping me to see and hear a little better.
Thank you Dana for sharing. I see you. I hear you. I listen to you. We must also do the same in Australia for our First Nation people.
I see you and you matter. Thank you for sharing this with us.
This is such a powerful statement. I admit, I am often surprised when I see a woman of color knitting or in a yarn shop. I don’t know why I should be. I need to look inside to understand why. I can relate in a way, though, to what you said about being a woman. That is a woman of 70 years. I get so angry when I am told, especially by a man, but a woman would probably elicit the same result, what I should say or how I should it. This post has made me realize that I must talk to myself differently when I am surprised by how I react when I see a black, brown, gay, etc. doing something that isn’t in my experience. I will accept and try to feel worthy of their friendship. Thank you for this beautiful post.
Dana, thank you for sharing this with us. You gave me lots of food for thought, and I appreciate that.
Thank you! Sending love!
Thank you. I can not find words to adequately express my support. I can not find the words to express my anger and frustration with those that still deny institutional racism. I am afraid of feeling hopeful that THIS time people won’t get distracted before true equality becomes institutionalized. But I vow, I will stand, and no matter how tired and overwhelmed I feel, I will remember some people don’t have the luxury of turning away, and therefore I will continue to stand until equality is achieved.
I see you—and I stand with you and send you my love. We are all brothers and sisters on this planet and we need to make this a true thing everywhere—and not just the hope of a few.
I hear you, Dana, and I see you.
Thank you. Made me sit up and think about something other than myself. I find myself both angered and bewildered and sifting through my own actions or inaction about race, equality, and justice.
I’m sorry! I see you, and your frustration and fear and anger. I can only imagine how continually stressful it is to live it, rather than just have to think about it, and I just want us to freaking EVOLVE already!
Thank you for speaking out. I see you!
Black people know black lives matter. Now white people need to get in the fight and get changes made! You will not beat this alone and none of us should stop fighting the fight to end racism. I see you, hear you and will fight for you!
Love you. Support you. I SEE ‘YOU’
>>White supremacy is the difference between peaceful protestors being met with rubber bullets and tear gas versus protestors openly carrying guns demanding that cities open in a pandemic and being met with silence and no response from police.
Why is no one else making this important point! Thank you!
Dear Dana, I am a white woman who lived in Alabama for eight years. I hold no prejudice but during my time there I noticed that black people would shy away from me when we met on the street. That behavior bothered me. I wanted to say to them, you don’t know me or who I am but you are making a decision that I am like all other white people and could bring you harm. I realized that on an emotional level I understood a small part of what black people go through every day. It was a huge awakening in me and I have never forgotten that feeling. Thank you for your inspired column. I pray that this period in time will help white people understand that we need to stand up for everyone, not just other white people, and that black, and brown, people will understand that there are a lot of white people who support them.
Thank you for your candor in your comments and the courage to show your vulnerability, Dr. William-Johnson. It’s true, sometimes knitting is simply not enough to ease all of the angst, pain, and fear we are experiencing during these tumultous times. I wish it were, but then the problems we’re facing would have to be a lot simpler to solve, and they are just not. I’m glad the issues of racial inequality and injustice are in the public face, although part of me rues the lack of progress we seem to have made from the Civil Rights Era, when the protests were very poignant and (so far) more violent, overall, and disruptive. Maybe the comparatively peaceful protests will allow for more discussion, like this one. People tend to listen when they are not afraid or defensive. I have hope.
–Loel Kim
I see you and hear your pain.
Thank you for bravely sharing, Dana. I see you. I hear you. I love you.
Thank you, Dana.
Powerful sharing and deeply appreciated! All love, Dana; feeling with you as we share this lived experience.
A member of the YarnYay group on Facebook linked this post in support of your words. This was beautifully written, and sadly, necessary for many of us white people to hear.
Love you, Dana. So glad you spoke up about the name. Kay and Ann will always be Kay and Ann, regardless of what their website is called. Maybe, as regards to their former name, we can just remember about reaching across a border and becoming friends. No harm in keeping the good and ditching the bad. I know you don’t feel much like knitting just now– frankly, neither do I– but I hope that with time and positive change that you will come back to it, little by little. Your voice in this community is so inspiring, I pray that you will choose to continue to be a part of it. For my part, and–I hope– for the part of all knitters lacking melanin, we will Stand in the Gap for you, and for all knitters of color, because we love you and we don’t need divisions in the best community in the world. You Belong here– always.
I so hear you. I have hardly been able to knit a stitch in the past few weeks. These are such hard times, but we are in this together. White supremacy is unfortunately all too real, and it is absolutely abominable. It is time for white people to make very substantial inner changes, including life long liberals like me, and to ensure that huge structural changes happen NOW, as allies and accomplices of BIPOC.
I witness your pain. I am sorry; Deeply sorry for this horrific disease of racism. I pledge for change.
I congratulate both sides mentioned in today’s piece for understanding and changing after lots of rethinking
knitting, nomenclature, and sharing
Thanks to all for sharing, it made my Saturday morning brain actually more active about a lot of subjects
Dear Professor,
I not only see you, I hear you. Thank you for letting us see and hear your witness. Your are a brave woman!
I can’t look away from your beautiful knit wear, but it was you and not your gorgeous sweaters that brought me to MD knitting. I saw your photo with Jellybean and I thought that a knitting site with an African American contributor was something I’d be interested in. And I am interested: in the site and the knitting and you (and your sweaters and Jellybean!)
Thank you for trusting you story with us.
Lisa D. Schoenwetter
You are a treasure. We will all miss you terribly as you step away for a time. Things have got to change, we can’t just go on as if nothing’s wrong, it’s just too ugly, too hateful, too dangerous. Take care of yourself and your loved ones and do what you need to do. Be safe, dear one.
I see you Dana. I see you and your husband and every Black person who should never be afraid to live in the world while Black.
Dear Dana,
I hear you. I SEE you. I can only imagine your pain. For several years now I have been studying the roots of racism and the tendrils of white supremacy that are wrapped around our local, state, and federal policies and practices. As well as how those tendrils reach into all corners of our society, public and private in order to be a better antiracist and to better better serve my students (I am a professor at a community college which serves a diverse student population).
I am very happy to see someone who looks like you in the knitting community. It does not seem right for all knitters to look like me (a white woman) when our country is made up of so many people who don’t look like me. Thank you so much for speaking your mind. I wish it wasn’t necessary. I know the burden that people of color are expected to carry and how exhausting it is. I do hope that, for once, we can truly make changes that dismantle the racist policies and practices and undo the 400 years of inequality, inequity, and oppression. I hope that when you do pick up your knitting again, that it brings you peace and tranquility once again. ❤️
Kristie Bradford
It’s kind of like PTSD, isn’t it? How can you watch the video knowing the man is begging for his life for 9 minutes with no response/concern from his murderer. It’s inhuman and the officer should b charged with first degree murder. Praying for America; we need a new way going forward.
I see you and feel for your pain ♡
Thank you for this, and for the other recent posts on your blog.
As a white woman, I can never know what you, your husband, and my friends of color have to deal with every single day. I had a small taste of it years ago when a business trip took me to a largely Asian suburb in Southern California, and I was the only white person in the hotel. I was given a filthy room, had doors slammed in my face as I was trying to pass, and my calls to the front desk were never answered. My guess is it’s something like that, only on steroids, with lethal potential, every single place you go.
It’s time for people to stop dishing out what they wouldn’t like to taste themselves. It’s time for America, and the world, to get the junk off our plates and dine on diversity. It’s time to grow wise and it’s time to grow up.
It’s time.
Thank you, Dana. I see you and I hear you. ❤️
Dana, Thanks for speaking up. I just wanted echo many of the comments to say- I see you, I hear you, I am listening and acting. Thanks for addressing the MDK name – I was also reluctant to take a look at their website after seeing their name, having grown up in the south and knowing the negative connotations. I thank them for their sensitivity and formally changing their name.
I see you, and I see the situation in this country much differently now. I commit to seeing and hearing and seeking out black voices so I can learn to be a help in whatever way I can. I pray that all eyes can be opened. And all hearts as well.
I grew up in the 40’s and 50’s believing black lives mattered and people were equal no matter what color their skin or language was. I followed news of the 60’s riots and saw changes coming and learned all the songs, and thought things were going to get better. I think I was stuck in this belief all my life. I had hope. Watching the 2008 and 2012 inaugurations I cried tears of joy seeing this beautiful black family “make it” so far. Did I stupidly think the years of black suffering and injustice were over then? In spite of shedding tears of sorrow at the 2016 election, my spirits were heightened by listening to and reading discussions of lack of diversity and inclusion in traditionally but innocuously white areas of craft and art. Was this going to make things better? I realized my long held perception and understanding and respect of black-skinned or brown-skinned people was foggy, clouded and unclear by my being at a distance and being white. Not that I created the distance or even wanted the distance, but it was just there, making any semblance of mutual feelings hidden and private between us.
But now, during these months in pandemic-land, and the past few days in June 2020, I’m reading so many outpourings from well spoken people of color that have touched my heart, and it’s burning off the fog. I’m able to see everything more clearly. I’m realizing more and more these days how it is for you and other black knitters and writers and mothers and joggers and walkers and butchers, bakers and candlestick makers. With this hazy fog lifting, I realize I am seeing more clearly that it isn’t just about inclusion in some situations, or reaching a place of high standing politically, it isn’t “some” situations or “sometimes,” it is every day and about everyday things and life.
I don’t know how to use my personal realizations to change things, I’m not an activist, I’m trying to be retired and make time to knit. I can only offer this personal insight/explanation of how the fog is lifting over my blurry perceptions because of so many articulate insightful writers and bloggers like you who are speaking from their hearts about being black every day. I hope it keeps up, the writing, not the aversion to knitting.
My personal hope is that we as elders, mothers, fathers, teachers and community and government leaders (if there is still hope for them) can and will teach the understanding of humanity—from the inside out, rather than the outside in—to the next generation(s) we are able to reach.
I look forward to the time when every other tweet or email or news or beautifully written article as yours is, doesn’t make me cry.
I see you and thanks for being you!! CIndy, Olympia WA
Thank you for sharing this with us!!
This is beautiful. Thank you so much for sharing this.
Thank you, Dana!
Dear Dana, I grew up in a very southern state where the KKK was a good old boys club …aka the white supremacy. I left 48 yrs ago, was not a southern thinking girl, and Never looked back. I may never know the pain of disrespect because of the color of someone’s skin. Yep, I’m white, married to someone of a different culture. I have heard some rude comments about my husband but don’t know the pain endured by the Black & Brown communities experience everyday.
I was horrified when the president called the confederate flag carrying KKK , some good people. That would be code for come on out. Look close at those civilians carry their guns strapped to their chest. Everyone ask yourself the question “WHY” …To intimidate the Black & Brown community, it’s a KKK tactic. They must be stopped and it should start with the president denouncing them..along with other Nazi groups in this country.
Dana we see you and standing with you along with people from all over the world.
The most important thing now is to March, Speak out against racism and VOTE.
Donate to organizations that fight racism
May all of us continue to ” Say Their Names” and never forget who they are.
Thank you for adding to the sentiment of disgust that a lot of “white people” feel. I come from an extremely racist family and chose not to go that route. I choose to teach my children that color really doesn’t matter!
Dear Dana,
Thank you for this column. Like you, I was initiially put off by the name of this website, even after I read Ann and Kay’s story behind Modern Daily Knitting. I don’t recall if it was seeing you on the Contributors page, the women modelling the Big Joy knitwear or a combination of factors that made me think, “This space is OK.”
I see you. I hear you. And I’m glad you wrote this column.
Peace
As a wife, mother, grandmother who just happened to be born white, this made me sob for you and all the things you have to be so concerned about every day. Things I never have to give a second thought. I’d love to be trite and say I understand, but I know I can never fully feel what you do. So I’ll just that, as a concerned woman, I see your great pain and I weep.
Dana, thank you for sharing your thoughts and feelings. I can’t imagine how scary is it to be black in this country and never know when you are going to be met with hate. I have a friend who has raised 2 black men and it is only in the last 5 years or so that I realized that she dealt with a very different view of the world than I did. You are a beautiful being and I thank you for sharing.
Thank you Dana. We are watching the current events in the US with such anger, sadness and dismay and also seeing how the systematic racism and violence towards people of colour in the US is mirrored in our own home (Australia).
Thank you for sharing “you” with me. I see you!
So well stated. I’m glad MDK has changed their name. I also avoided the website for several years, because I didn’t know what I would find here. I suppose that’s my bias, assuming that there could be racism here. We all need to change, we all want a world where everyone feels safe. We need to work hard to know how, and care, that black lives matter. I am sorry for the pain you are feeling, that so many are feeling. It infuriates me to hear white supremacists spreading their lies, and I’m so sad that they are believed by too many. Against reason, because this battle for equality has gone on for so long, with so little apparent progress, I am hopeful for eventual desirable change.
Dana, I see you. I hear you. I am so sorry for the hurt and the fear I have unwittingly not seen, not heard and caused. I am sorry for my part as a privileged white person. Please help me to listen, to learn. Teach me so that together we can work for justice. Together we can hope. Thank you for speaking up and sharing your self. Bless you and keep you safe. Kathryn
I see you
I am listen
I support you
I want to learn so much more
My and family and friends will continue to stand with you
I pray for peace
Thank you!
I don’t just see you, I feel you. It’s great people are saying they see you and they’re listening. I hope they also grasp the concept of what its like to BE you. Listening so they can learn is a great step too, then take it farther and start talking… have those hard conversations. I don’t know who said it, but the quote is “white silence is violence.” Being silent just allows it to continue, it takes effort and action to bring about change. I’m a plain old white vanilla American female, and until I fell in love with the heart and soul that lives in a black man’s body, I really didn’t know what being a person of color in America was like. The best analogy I have was it was like unplugging from The Matrix (as in the movie), what I thought was reality wasn’t true at all. Dana.. please don’t be anyone but yourself. And please know there are people who make the effort every day to change hearts and minds so ALL people are treated as valuable human beings.
I see you. I hear you. I will act for you. I attended a BLM protest today in my small town of 23,000 people. I listened to black people share their experiences, fear, anger, and hope. I talked to people about being a teenager in the 60s and being so sure things would be better by now. I was so wrong. I talk to friends and relatives about the white privilege we enjoy, even though many are not yet aware of it or understand it. I am sick of the division and inequity in our country and will no longer sit in silence.
Dear Dana, I see you and thank you for sharing of yourself here.
I have been trying to decide which organizations I will set up ongoing subscriptions to support. IF and only IF you would like to put a finger on that scale, I would love to put my weight behind something important to you; no need to formulate a written response, just a top three list of names in the reply line would give me enough to go on, another form of ‘Dana’s Edit’, if you will. But only if it’s not a burden!
Warmly,
Amber
I love what I see.
Thank you Dana for being humble and strong enough to start the conversation that I/we should have started years/generations ago.
Thank you for this thoughtful blog post. I am learning to listen to my friends of color in a different way and am beginning to understand many things which always eluded me in the past. I now can say Black Lives Matter and truly mean it. I am an old white woman who’s still able to be educated and I thank you once again. I will look forward to your future thoughts and insights.
Thank you for sharing, Dana. You matter.
I see you. Thank you for writing this. Systemic racism has to be addressed and confronted. The only way to do that is for those of us who know that it is wrong but have remained silent because it ‘wasn’t our fight’ to understand that if a black man is not safe jogging alone, nobody is safe jogging alone. If a black woman is not safe in her own home, nobody is safe in their homes. In a just society these actions cannot stand and change must come. May your knitting mojo return with all its usual ferocity and bring you comfort and joy.
God bless you and may the yearning for knitting return to you soon, with God’s help.
Jesus loves you and God’s got this and He’s got you.
Wash your hands. Say a prayer.
Jesus and germs are everywhere.
Thank you for this. I’m listening.
I hear you and all of the people out there! It’s a very sad state that our country is in! Love to you! I’m sorry you’re not knitting.
Thank you for this.
I also see you and I understand you. You gave us profound words. Thank you. (I love Jellybean)
Wonderfully & succinctly written.
I see you as a very attractive, talented & intelligent woman. Your skin colour is to be loved and embraced. We are all the same under a surgeons scalpel blade. Our differences are to be celebrated.
One life, one world and acceptance of racial equality is what I pray for with all my heart.
Ps. If I saw your husband and he asked me to put my dog on the lead, I would apologise and do so, but I know unquestionably that I would also ask him if his jumper was hand knitted and admire the artistry that went into it .
Godbless
Gill
I see you. I hear you. I stand with with. Thank you for sharing your everyday. For sharing your words that need to resonate loudly. Thank you Dana.
I have never seen your knitting but would like to. I do see you in this essay at least. And I want you to know that I will educate myself and actively join the fight to change how poc are treated in this country.
Thank you for this post. You are a remarkable woman!
I see you. I hear you. I support you. I’m a somewhat senior (62) white woman who remembers the MLK assassination. I am heartbroken that we have regressed so badly as a nation, from Obama to trump. Later today my child (almost 20) and I will be joining the ongoing protests in San Jose, CA.
I see you. I listen to you. I will call out injustice when I see it. I will learn more about this country’s white supremacy and work to defeat it.
Thank you, Dana. Keep saying it. Maybe it will 400 years late get through finally. Carol
I see you. Thank you so much for writing this.
Thank you for this. I hope Black people will continue to bring their personal thought, feelings, and experiences to the rest of us, as you have done here. We need it because we of white privilege are still sorely lacking in compassionate understanding and in the determination we need to foster change.
Thank you!! I LOVE your knitting, and you brought me back to thus site, which I had been boycotting for a few years. (Yup, it was the name.)
I LOVE THIS CHANGE!! and I am doing what I can to help out. It’s nice to know that my favorite knitting people are Finally seeing some of these things too.
Dana, I see you and I am grateful that you mentioned the name Modern Daily. I was always uncomfortable with that name too. I am glad you nudged the change. I will feel better with the new name.
I also see your pain and frustration with our society and culture. This has been going on for Way too long. We need to see some changes now. Let us pray that this is the start of real change !
People need to remember this not just for a day or two or a week or two but months and years and on and on!
I see you Dana. I have a mixed race family and I know that clutch of fear and pain. My heart goes out to all of us.
I see you, I offer you my hugs & compassion like I offer all my friends of any color and creed. I have a deep, soul wrenching pain for what happens when people of color are killed for any reason. I can’t describe it. God must’ve put it in my heart before I was born because the feeling has always been there. I was 5 when the Detroit riots broke out. My mom was angry about “those **** blacks” I was mad at her for not caring people were being hurt & killed. I remember watching the newsreels of the Vietnam war on tv. I felt so sad, I couldn’t keep working on my homework. My mom told me to get over it. It wasn’t happening here. It doesn’t affect us. But it did, it does. I remember seeing a vet a few years later. He looked so sad. I asked him what happened. He said “the war” I asked if he wanted me to pray for him. He said it didn’t matter, there were too many to pray for. At 10, I didn’t understand that, but I did pray. I gave him my $1 & told him to go buy some candy bars. I have friends all around the world from being penpals with them during my teen years. I got letters in 10 languages. I wrote in 5 languages. I had 100+ penpals. I loved them all! From Bali, to Tonga to Western Australia to Gabon to Côte de Ivoir to Finland to Israel to Lithuania to Argentina to El Salvador and even Canada & the USA. I sent packages to nearly every one of them. My heart weeps that I cannot change how other people feel about skin of other people. I guess I have been blessed with a deep heart but I also have a heart that wants to have people like you teach me more about how to be accepting, how to show love without being weird & mushy-gushy about it. I am not too old to learn and I need to learn much more.
Oh Dana, I read what you wrote here with tears in my eyes and a heavy heart.
I am a 64-year-old white woman who was raised in the south by a father whose racism was rabid, and I swore I would never, ever be like him when I grew up. I raised a child as a single mother, and I took pride in the fact that my child was not raised with the same messages I received. One of the proudest moments of my entire life was voting for Barack Obama, and I voted for him specifically because he was black. I knew that the wisdom of centuries of black souls would speak through him, and they did.
But I never realized how insidious and covert the evolution of racism is in one’s development and thinking. As hard as I think I try, I am guilty of stereotyping, of allowing insidious messages of racism to pass this anti-racist barrier I’ve tried to maintain. I’ve been stunned by my own subconsciously racist responses to images and messages once I’ve had a moment to think. It depresses me terribly that this happens within me, that it’s part of our world, and that fighting it always seems like one step forward, two steps back.
But for George Floyd, James Byrd, Jr., Ahmuad Arbery, Sandra Bland, John Crawford III, Tamir Rice, Michael Brown, Trayvon Martin, Breonna Taylor, Botham Jean, Eric Garner, Manuel Ellis, Freddie Gray, Alberta Spruill, Gregory Howard Williams, and the thousands of other black people harmed or killed because of their color, I will keep fighting. I will keep learning. I will keep listening. Black lives do matter to me, and I will stand with and for my fellow black citizens whenever I can.
Dana, I hope you are experiencing love and support from everyone who reads your post, and I beg you to pick up those needles again. I too am a knitter and hope that by knitting together, we can continue to weave and strengthen our multicolored human fabric. I will wait for you, and when you start knitting again, I will join you in solidarity with the entire black community in my heart.
Much love.
Even though your want to share was low, thank you so much for writing this.
This is the first of your posts I have read and find it insightful and making me think. I am white, I am trying to learn more about how all people feel in these tumultuous times and I appreciate your honesty in this piece. I knew nothing about your knitting, but love what I learned about you in this piece, please keep sharing you.
Thank you, Dana, for sharing your story and your pain. I am so sorry if I (as a white woman) have not understood, followed through, or stood up for unfairness to people of color. Thank you for helping me to start seeing, and acting on the truth. Also, as a veterinarian, I love your dog. May you have some peace, Gay Gira-Lathrop
thank you for all this , Dana.
Thank you for writing this. Big hugs.
I see you.
At 77, I thought I was done taking to the streets.
Here in Florida, near Sanford in Seminole County where young Trayvon Martin was shot and killed. I cannot help but believe we should have taken to the streets then. Perhaps George and Brianna would still be with us.
Please be safe in DC.
I see you, Dana. I am also a Black woman who knits daily. Please be encouraged and begin to knit again. Relish the joy and peace it brings and don’t be defeated by negativity. It’s what we all have to do.
Dana,
I see you. White supremacy means that when I have been pulled over by a policeman, I have never had to think, “Am I going to make it through this alive?”. I grew up in a white middle class neighborhood, with 3 people of color in my highschool. My father was a policeman fro 30yrs. I was taught to be wary of black people, but never to hate them. After going to college and living in Baltimore for a few years, I was shocked when I went home and my sister made a racist comment about some black teenagers who were shopping at her Target, who were just walking from their car ti the store through the parking lot. thy hadn’e done anything, said anything, they were just black. When we got home I asked her if she really meant the things that she had said, did she really feel that way. Her answers and my parents and brother in law chiming in made me realize that I come from a family of racists. It made me question, was I? Was I at least less of a racist? Are there such degress of racism or is it you either are one or you’re not?
I am a homecare nurse, I work with black people, my patients are probrably 1/2 black. I have always prided myself that everyone gets my best care. I try to put into practice treating people the way I would want to be treated.
I think if I am aware of white supremacy, am questioning my actions in that light, I am in a process. I still have the advantages white privilege gives me, but I work towards leveling the field.
Between being a nurse during this pandemic and trying to understand the violence against black people, I am too stressed to even think about knitting.
Thank you and I see you.
I, too, am an avid knitter and started at the age of 8. I am having the same problem with my knitting. With everything so unsettling, I fear for our future. I pray for peace and equality for everyone! May you soon be at peace and back to your knitting.
I see you, I hear you and I stand with you.
Thank you for sharing, for every aspect of you… beautiful you. Such an inspiration to me of joy, creativity, and care. I see you and I hurt for you … and working to educate myself and those around me for change.
Dear Dana,
I am an old white lady who has an overwhelming need to apologize for all the ignorant, evil and foolish among us that have caused so much heartache. The human race is terribly flawed and always has been. I cannot understand why God has allowed such suffering. I have always admired your talent and am grateful that you share it with us.
I hope you will find a path back to the happiness we all shared before.
Love to you and your family,
Charlotte Weller
Dear Dana,
Reading your post has brought tears to my eyes. But please know that you have friends all over the world that will have your back, support and listen to YOU. Even in tiny Belgium from which I write, miles away from the US, things are taking place. People are taking to the streets and support the BLM movement. The name of “avenue Lloyd George” has been changed to “avenue Floyd George”.
Hopefully votes in your next election will change the course of today’s America for a better future.
In the meantime I hope you find comfort and solace. Be safe.
As a black expat who loves to knit. I love your message and your work. I found this site a short time ago and found the name off putting but looked in anyway. We need a better world. We must act now. I’m tired of waiting. It’s been overdue for 401 years.
Little did George Floyd know that he would be the one to make this world say Enough. My heart breaks for you and for all who have suffered from the effects of racism. I hear you Dana.
Thank you! I support YOU and look forward to hearing more from YOU!
❤ I see you. Thank you for writing this.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts. I want you to know that I see you. I want you to find joy in your knitting again. I want peace for you and all of our brothers and sisters.
Thank you, Dana. We have so much to learn.
I see you and I hear you, Dana. You’ve inspired me to commit to active work towards solidarity, better awareness, and returning to the MDK site. Though I enjoyed the info and projects, I was off-put by the name and seemingly persistent tone-deafness over it. More unity, less division. More solidarity, true equality and social justice, less opti-allyship. A new chance; a new Modern Day Knitting. Il be watching Ann’s working from Seattle. <3
Darn Android Swipe w/out coffee.. apologies: I’ll be watching and working (and knitting), from Seattle. ❤
Dana, Thank you for sharing your self and your story. I have only recent found you this past winter, and have loved your blog, stories and all you share, they have helped me through the sheltering in. I SEE you as the beautiful, generous human you are.
I see you and you are beautiful. Go back to knitting, it is a part of you that only you can do. Your God given talent and they can’t be separated. Your knitting might take on a new light through your pain. I’d like to think we can change the world through our needlework. You will be heard and seen and we will change the world this time one stitch at a time.
Just want you to know, I am listening. And trying. And sending love. We are all connected. The knitting will come in its own time.
Dear Dana, As a 72 year old white woman, I don’t know what to say without sounding glib and shallow. The accumulated heartbreak and fear that Black Americans feel everyday have been overlooked and pushed aside for centuries y white Americans. We can only hope that won’t happen going forward. My little community in this overwhelmingly white New England town is doing what we can to make changes. I had the same reaction to the Modern Daily name and resisted reading it for the same reasons -the history that the name raises. I hope that eventually you can find enough peace to return to the craft that has brought you the joy you generously share with the rest of us.
Dear Dana, Thank you so much for your heartfelt blog. I am 69 years old and so this isn’t the first time in my life that protests and riots have been going on. I know all people carry prejudices, but I also know that the prejudices and supreme attitudes of white people in general have “put a knee on the neck” of black people. The solutions to this will not be easily solved. The powerful do not share power easily and the rest of us want to hang on to whatever progress we have made. I am not a white supremacist! What I am is an older woman who lives in rural Washington state and in my lifetime the number of black people in my immediate community can be counted on one hand. I never have considered my family as racially prejudiced but in the last few years I had have had to admit to myself that it is there. I consider admitting the problem to being the first step. I don’t know how to make change happen, but I am committed to change myself by educating myself through news, movies, literature and fiber arts sources. I will contact my senators and representatives. I think real change will only come when black and white people make a conscious effort get to know each other personally. In the meantime I think reforms in education and policing should be the priority. I’m going to stop now because I think I have said what I basically need to say. Your blog is important as a way for people to link together and find commonalities in our lives. I wish all good things for you and your family. Libby Whitney
I, too, was put off my the name Modern Daily Knitting. Thank you for your thoughtful piece. It sheds insight in a calm, personal way to some of the quiet consequences of irrational, unconscionable behavior as a result of racism. Thank you, Dana, and thank you, MDK, for changing your name.
Dana, thank you for your words and wisdom…my heart goes out to you and all black people who suffer needlessly every day. It has pained me throughout my life to think about the pain, worry, fear, discrimination that any black, brown, yellow person has had to go through because of the level of melanin in their skin. How absolutely insane is that prejudice? INSANE.AND. WRONG.
I.See.You. and I stand with You and Your Beautiful Family. I cry for the sadness and worry you carry with you each day. Again – thank you for your words and teachings. We are grateful and We are With You. BLACK LIVES MATTER.
– Kate Donahue Bend, Oregon
Wow, I need to hear so many more stories like yours. I am sure if I met you in person we would be friends in a minute but being a retired person I just don’t run into enough people. I am lucky that I live on a block where we have at least 6 nationalities so I am getting to know a few more people. Hang in there, Hopefully this is the tipping point that helps your world to be a better place. I live in KY and our governor declared today that the first thing we are going to do is to make sure ever Black/African Amer in KY has healthcare and that something is done so you don’t have to take 3 buses to get to that health care. Many blessings to you
I see YOU and am so glad to do so. Thank you for writing from your heart. I love your strength and your creativity and tenderness. I’m so sad.
Dear Dana, Thank you for inviting us to see you. I am challenged by your words “For as much love and support I get online about my knitting, if I was murdered in my own home while I slept like Breonna Taylor, would you demand justice for me? Or would you just keep knitting?” I have my own personal trauma history and am fairly terrified of conflict or confrontation. But the events surrounding Mr. Floyd’s death have tipped it for me. I am a white woman, and I feel more fury than fear of the white folks in my town who are armed to the teeth and who can be heard making racist remarks. I feel fury about the subtle stuff, the white whine about “how much we have given to black people and they still complain and blah blah.” I feel fury that black mothers and fathers are afraid to let their sons walk to the store to go get some milk. If they have a grocery store in the neighborhood. What I know deep in my bones now is that we cannot let up until this crap is looked at squarely, faced, rooted out. I will never truly feel a sense of well-being as an American until all of us thrive, and I can see black communities thriving, not just surviving. It is enough. So yes, I would demand justice for you, and enjoy my knitting so much more if I have done my part. Hugs. I am so proud of black leadership at this time, they are showing a way forward for all of us. May it be, and may we become aware involved in justice in our own communities after all the protests have ceased.
Dear Dana, I do not write my thoughts as well as you but I can’t not respond. My father grew up in the south and after meeting and marrying my Mom they moved to upstate NY. There were 5 children and we were all taught that we are all the same race. The human race! I will never understand how anyone can hate someone they don’t know and never met. My fathers thinking was different from his family and I am so thankful for my parents and the way they brought us up. I pray that you find peace in life and that your knitting brings you comfort again as it does me.
I hope it’s ok that I shared this on FB (with full attribution and a link to your blog). It’s THAT important. I’m so sorry it took me so long to truly see. I thought I did, but I didn’t.
I see you. I hear you. I will strive to do better, be better. I promise I will support Black people and honor their journeys. Please know I am with you, see you, and hear you.
Thank you!
Thank you for this.
I see you…I hear you…knitting got me through raising my three grandsons. Three black men . Friends and family were awesomely supportive; and knew as long as I had yarn, I was hopeful. I said all that to say…knit baby…..❤
A BIG virtual hug, your piece left in tears.
❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
Dana, you are spot on!! Thank you for everything you shared here. I’ve forwarded this to lots of friends, both black and white. I hope your knitting muse finds you again. You ARE seen, even though it might not feel like that right now. Let’s all pray for sanity and better days to come. And let’s have the conversations that must be had in order to bring about those better days for everyone. Keep speaking up and speaking out.
Thank you for this thoughtful and thought-provoking post, Dana. Your points are well made and need to be shared more broadly. May I please extend them into my (largely white and older) group of friends and family?
I hear you and will keep listening to what you have to say.
I see you, and I am on your side. ❤️
I see you. You have a beautiful smile and so much to offer. My heart goes out to you for the heartbreak and struggle you are going thru. Stay brave.
Thank you for your writing. I see you and salute you!
Thank you for saying what is in your heart. This is what people need to hear. As a white woman, I know that it is “my” people who have made this dual system of privilege and brutality, and we have to be accountable for taking it down. It is horrific. I see you. And I honor all the contribution you are making to our world, beyond making it beautiful. Be safe, and do not be quiet.
Dana, thank you for writing this. Much love to you.
Thank you for sharing this. I’ve printed this to share with my family. I wish I could just come on over and give you a hug. I appreciate you, I hear you. I pray we can all do better.
Thank you for telling it like you feel it. I support you!
I hope you feel ready to knit soon, but meanwhile I hope you keep writing because your voice is an important one that I want to hear from. Thank you.
Thank you Dana when I was introduced to your site I felt comforted to see a face like mine looking back at me… Because of you I saw and found more of me as a knitter and even now as a Black woman traumatized by the constant undercurrent of fear that runs under the surface of my body. It is fear for my black body, and the various shades of black that you will find in my family starting with my son, grandchildren and among my nieces and nephews and their children and grandchildren. I’m tired, and it’s my knitting that I turn too, it’s about all I can control in my life! If I have to rip out and start again- I do it. It’s what happening right now in our communities- the threads of oppression and systemic racism are being ripped out, and now “we the people” have to pick up the stitches to create that “more perfect union” that will include the lives of Black people, and other oppressed minorities in this country. I see you and I feel you, and with every stitch I weave in this prayer. “That we will not go back to the normal of the past, and that we have the courage of heart live with the discomfort as we the people define the new normal.” This is my prayer for the people – In whom the indwelling light of God can be found.
I see you. And I care. From Brighton, England.
Thank you. I hear you. I’d like to hear more, too.
I hear you. At least I hope I do. Old, white leftist here. I keep thinking that we (people wanting to change the country) should have solved at least most of this in the last century. Yet here we are (we==the country as a whole) again. Don’t laugh but the original book and site name did cause me a few twitches also.
Thank you for the column and be well.
I see you. I hear you. And I will stand by you and others. As a first step, I have shared info about your pivotal column, changes made in response to it + the founding of the BIPOC directory with my Stitchers for Good group of Silver Spring Village in Maryland. Virtual hugs + fists.
Dear Dana, Thank you for your words. It must have cost a great deal to write them at such a time. I see you. Sending love.
<3
Thank you. One the greatest lessons I ever learned was from a brilliant 26 year old black women I’d just hired in my office. She said “ if you don’t see the color of my skin you don’t see me, I’m not just a darker shade of you.” So yes , Dana, I see you and I’m leaning in to listen, and I promise you I will keep learning and I will, at 73, continue to stand and fight racial injustice because Black Lives Matter.
If you are ever on the west coast, you are welcome in my home.
I read this with a hand on my heart. You write beautifully and I hear your message. I hope that great changes are on the horizon.
Very powerful and thoughtful. Thank you. I see you. Your experience and feelings are heard and respected.
Dear Dana, I see you and support you. We are all God’s children, created equally. My prayer is that our nation will come together and treat ALL people (and especially the African American people) with the respect and dignity they deserve and are entitled to. God bless you.
Thank you for this post. xoxoxox
I see you and I hear you. I’m grateful for the awareness about institutional racism and white supremacy that’s being seen now. My heart breaks with the fact of this. I was impersonally aware before (my white privilege) but will learn, see, listen and act now for justice and equality for all. Thank you for your post.
Thank you, Dana. I see you and my heart is saddened by your struggle. You inspire me to “do the work” it will take to make us all equal and to support social justice at every turn. I’ll knit a heart to share.
I see you. I hear you. I send you love, and support, and wish I could stand by your side to show you how much I care about what you are going through. You matter. Your husband matters. Stay safe.
I see you, Dana, and am glad you are there.
Thank you Dana. I see you, hear you, listen and support you.
Dana you are a strong woman like the rest of us. I think it is great that you knitted 27 sweaters in one year.
So sorry your going through a hard time and I pray for you that this feeling passes. I have a niece who is married to the sweetest black man and together they have two children n I worry for all of them! There are certain things that need to be changed in this country for sure..though destroying property is not the way. I hope you can shake this off n go back to knitting… maybe knit something that expresses your feelings of what the world is going through?? Good luck!!
What a BUNCH of BS!! I can see you – a lot of whining about poor black you – college professor who still believe that everyone owes her… And yeah, crowing about “peaceful protests” on behalf of a career criminal who stupid people made into a saint… you are pathetic, I hope you know this..
You are so right about the knitting community not having black or brown knitters up front. I support everything you say, most crafty sites really has not featured black communities crafting. I for one , many years , never realized how many black, brown wonderful crafters there are, until I started to search knitting, sewing & cross stitching websites.
Thank you and please keep this subject out front.
Jellybean is very happy you knit !!!
You are seen and heard as a voice who knows what she is talking about. I know I picked up a book that had people of colour as the main characters that when that was mentioned I kept going “oh yeah”. I felt like slapping my own face that i, who thought I had no prejudice had this reaction. I do have friends of any race, colour, creed etc and I still automatically had pictured everyone in the story as white. I hate that I did that. can I say I love your knitting, it’s colour and vibrancy and Jelly bean’s matching sweater. I hope for major changes to occur in your country and elsewhere. We need to learn we are all the same as humans because if we don’t we may not have much time left on this planet. I hope your knitting and writing mojo comes back full force and that your virtual classes are great fro your students
Hi Dana! My name is Suzanne and I truly enjoy your articles. I am a crocheter, but I have started knitting again( my mom taught me to knit when I was 8 yrs old)
.Covid got in the way of the classes at my library, so my progress has slowed down. I hope you can become inspired again. I have experienced slow downs occasionally through the years. Jellybean is adorable, especially when she matches you!!! Thanks for your articles. Suzanne from NY
Give it a rest!! Get over your parents and grandparenrs past and make better if yourself by not dwelling on it.
My lovely friend Rose is going through tough times in Florida. This is a quote I sent her from MDK.
TALL poppys rise above the weeds to seek the sunshine.
CELEBRATE YOUR UNIQUENESS, be a tall poppy. Penny
I see you and I can feel your pain through your words. My heart is with you.
I saw you this summer (with more clarity than the last), I see you now and I will continue to see you as I stand beside you.
Dana solidarity from the UK. Where sadly we have families seeking long overdue justice for their loved ones murdered in police custody. However more of the general population is finally listening. This year we have been unable to take to the streets with BLM and Stand up to Racism but we are protesting virtually and will be back .
Thank you, Dana
I will do my best to be part of the “solution” to the injustice!
Dear Danna, My heart is aching for you and for all who are marginalized and discriminated against. Please tell us how too help. I mean practical every day things we can do to help put an end to this hatred and abuse. It is a difficult conversation, but one in which I am willing and ready to participate. I know your pain and fear are real and want to help. Show me the way.
Amen. Proud to meet you. Love your color choices.
Thank you for this post. I hope I will be more thoughtful of knitters of all colors.
Beautifully said. As a white woman, I’m trying (in these difficult days) to not only ‘see’ you as a black woman, but to be ever mindful of the privileges, large and small, which are handed to me with my skin. It has been a revelation! I don’t know how to change it but I do know awareness is the beginning. I hope the day comes soon when we are all equal before the law and in our hearts.
I’ve seen your podcast with K Glass and some of your own. I always hear something you say, in such an open and honest way, that moves me and makes my own world better. You’re a delight to listen to. Real, wise and refreshing. It’s been a terrible time for many many people so collective messages of hope and love are more valuable than ever. Thank you, Dana. “And your little dog too!” Xo, Gitte
Comment number 800 on the anniversary of this post: Yours is such an indispensable voice here and elsewhere on the Web. Thank you for sharing your truth, and please don’t stop.
Dana, thank you for writing this. Thank you for sharing your feelings with all of us. Some of us are trying to do the work to gain a better understanding. It’s disheartening to see how many want to remain in ignorance.
Sorry to hear Dana was so very ill. Glad to know she is on the mend and being wrapped in the warmth of various yarn projects by her neighbors and friends. Just love the striped socks and really got a kick out of Jelly Bean’s leg warmers. Such a sweet little dog! Wishing Dana a speedy recovery. Take good care.
I judy stumbled across your post.
I was intrigued by what you have to say.
I am sorry you feel the way you do but I do understand and hear where you are coming from.
This is a stressful world and for some people more so.
I had never seen it presented as clearly you did.
Thank you.
have you seen those Thriller Video with the prison inmates, geez those are very nice’