BLACK LIVES MATTER is a movement, yes. A rallying cry. A demand to be seen & heard. But it is also a prayer whispered daily. An ancestral projection. Because life is a basic humxn right. As much as breathing or a heart beat are inherent. Black futures matter. Black people are not inherently vulnerable. They are targeted. Not afforded the same protections by the systems that continue to uplift white supremacy. Yet, you will consistently find Black people in caregiving roles. To quote Ra Malika Imhotep: “It comes as no surprise that the most vulnerable are often the most skilled stewards and caretakers. And in our white supremacist capitalist cis-heteropatriarchy society it comes as no shock that this care work is severely undervalued. But sick blk wimmin know the labor of our living is something invaluable that capitalist metrics could never hold. But still, someone, something needs to hold us.”


That someone, something is you.


At 4 years old, Ruby should be experiencing childhood. Playing with toys, creating artistic masterpieces to proudly display in her home, and dreaming up her future. Instead at 4 years old, Ruby is contemplating what it would mean to lose her grandmother-- the sole income provider in her household for both her and her Tia Amber (as Ruby calls her). Under the weight of systemic racism, Black children are forced to grow up early.


Ruby's grandmother, Iris, is one the most vibrant, loving women on this Earth and has spent her career training respiratory therapists at Banner Health Care in Tucson, AZ. After providing this critical service to the community for many years at a pay rate far lower than what she deserved, she contracted pneumonia then MRSA from her position last summer and almost lost her life. As we are acutely aware, the disease caused by SARS-CoV-2 manifests as a respiratory illness. Would it be safe to say that NEARLY DYING of a respiratory disease that failed to be considered a work related injury AND being an essential worker who TREATS patients with respiratory disease daily are both extremely compelling pre-existing conditions / alarming concerns?


Instead, in the midst of the COVID-19 epidemic, Iris is being asked to return to her position TOMORROW (Monday, June 8th, 2020). All while case numbers are skyrocketing as Arizona re-opens. Conditions are not at all safer for Iris and as the media brings the reality of systemic racism and its accompanying violence into their homes nightly, Ruby is faced with the harrowing reality that being a young Black girl means growing up without the same safety her non-Black pre-K peers have never had to think about.


We want to give Ruby hope by keeping Iris safe and at home with her family where she belongs. In order to facilitate this, we want to raise enough funds for their family to have their financial needs met for the next 3 months at a minimum while we strive to assist them with long term solutions. 


Your contribution will go directly to Iris, Ruby and Tia Amber (less any fees taken by GoFundMe) and remind Ruby that there are people in this world that care for them and want to support a world in which she has the same safety and sense of protection other 4 years olds have.