TBT Issue 03: Fire & Ice
Hello, and Happy(?) New Year.
This is going to be a little different. A year ago, I woke up to smoke blacking out the sky over my home, and spent the day watching fire ravage my city. I tracked notifications from Watch Duty, my friends’ houses circled on the map, and packed a bag, waiting for the fire in Runyon Canyon to hop over into Griffith Park. I was fortunate that day; no one I love was hurt, their houses all still stand, and the worst that came to Silver Lake was wind and smoke, but this post isn’t going to be about the fires. Not really.
As the Santa Ana winds blow today and my Alexa tells me there is a High Wind Advisory for my neighborhood, I thought I would take up this space reflecting on January 2025, but I can’t stop thinking about the murder of Renee Nicole Good by an ICE officer in Minnesota yesterday and its connection to another murder in Minnesota, the tragic death of George Floyd. They both are inflection points, moments of stark violence, that we will never come back from. I don’t know what the future holds or the right way to move forward, but that’s ok; this is Throwback Thursday, so I’ll tell you the most important and impactful thing I’ve learned since 2020: we take care of us.
At every point when things felt like they could not get any worse, whether under lockdown, on fire, or invaded by ICE, Los Angeles took care of Los Angeles. Neighbors rallied to protect neighbors, to support each other, and to give all that they could. During the fires, I was moved to tears over and over again by the work my community did to help each other. A friend organized a collection drive that gave away hundreds of mattresses to anyone who asked, my local coffee shop held fundraisers for the LAFD, and Los Angeles was named the “Most Generous Place” on GoFundMe’s 2025 Year in Help, with January 10, 2025, being the most generous day. When ICE terrorized our city this summer, Angelenos did not let them run rampant. We crowded the streets, we followed their cars, we warned our friends and neighbors. Groups like LA Taco did the hard work of on-the-ground journalism to make sure we always had the most accurate and up-to-date information.
I am always awed by this community, by the care and love that seems to know no bounds. I know that this same community will come together again in the wake of this continued violence against us. It may feel like there is no hope, like there is nothing that we can do, but don’t let that thought take root. That is what they want you to think; they want us hopeless and divided. Don’t let them win. Look to your friends, neighbors, and community, I guarantee that they will be there with open arms. Keep your own arms and heart open. And fuck ICE.
“The most evil and inhumane thing that our government does is manufacture violence and then turn around and try and convince you that that violence is necessary for your safety, for your wellbeing, for your future. And if you need an example of that look at ICE. All they do is create and inflict terror and violence in our communities.” @dutchdeccc
I know it can also feel silly to do anything creative in these times, but when we look back at history, it is art that endures; art is what we remember. It is also one of the few marketable skills that I have. When I first envisioned this post, it was going to end with a fundraiser for LAFD, Altadena Girls, and any other organization providing aid to anyone affected by the 2025 LA Fires, but that quickly evolved into a year-long idea.
Each month, I will create a limited run of cyanotype prints from one of my photographs. To get one, all you have to do is DM or email me proof of a donation to an organization helping marginalized communities. I’ll highlight a different organization each month, but any donation will be considered. There will also be a poll each month to choose which image will be made into a cyanotype. It’ll be fun! I think! Follow me on Instagram to take part in the voting!
If you’ve made it to the end, thank you! I am so happy you’re here.
xo E