Summary

Daniel Josè Older addresses this epistolary essay to the mother of his future children. She wanted him to write to their future children, not her, but he chose to write to her instead. They were in Kingston together when Sandra Bland was killed. Her name became a popular hashtag. Older was reminded of quotes by Eqbal Ahmad, Michael Foucault, and Nizar Quabbini. He concluded that art is crucial to the world, like politics, and it can create and destroy.

Older had a strong distrust of the word revolution. He thought it had been overused. Also, so many revolutions in history have meant oppression. However, Ferguson changed Older’s perspective on the word revolution. The protestors for black lives set a boundary and made demands. Revolution could not be polite or quiet.

When Older protested, he sent Nastassian...