The Check-In

As hundreds of citizens show up in town squares and streets to call for justice in the wake of the killing of George Floyd, many people are asking: How can this happen? How can police violence and the deaths of black citizens at the hands of police happen over and over again in our American democracy?

And before this, we were already in a pandemic that was disproportionately impacting black and Latinx communities, many of whom work as essential workers.

For answers, many are looking at how our systems work in the U.S. and calling for systemic change, from our policing and justice systems to health care and education.

The world is coming off of a weekend of protests, rallies and gatherings calling for justice after the killing of George Floyd. They're also calling for attention to police violence against unarmed black citizens and continuing to call for action. 

Indeed, more than a thousand people gathered in Columbia Sunday at the Boone County Courthouse for a Black Lives Matter rally and march that included speeches, singing and music.

If you’re looking at the news right now, you could be forgiven for thinking that you’ve maybe entered another dimension. Things can seem more than surreal. So much so that KBIA’s T’Keyah and Janet have been discussing apocalyptic storytelling. Especially the kind that brings attention to the experiences of the marginalized and helps us empathize and imagine - or even predict - a different future.

Octavia Butler does this. So does Margaret Atwood, among many others.

In this episode, we're checking in with people who have been and currently are on the frontlines of the civil rights movements of today and years ago.

We are in the midst of turbulent, and for many, dangerous times. And having the current crises played and re-played in the media and in real life for us day after day can take a toll -- especially for our black families and kids.

So how do we talk about the grief and loss that is part of life at center stage? What can we do for our kids who are feeling loss and even trauma from these events in their own lives as well as prominently in the media?

It’s impossible to talk about the events unfolding today with this double crisis we’re in - the virus and the widespread public outcry against racism within American law enforcement - without wondering how we got here and whether history can help us understand it.

Citizens in Columbia and across the country have spilled on to the streets to call for justice for George Floyd.

After the recent killings of Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery, and after a decade of killings of unarmed black citizens often at the hands of police, many people are saying: Enough is enough.

Theater is the idea of gathering with a group of people to see a live story unfold before our eyes in a way that transforms or challenges our vision of the world. And it all might seem like a distant dream right now.

This crisis has hit the theater world hard. Even on Broadway and well beyond, actors, writers, directors and dramatists have found themselves out of work and disconnected from their audiences and their art.

Health experts have asked us to continue social and physical distancing during this covid crisis, also to wear masks in many public places and to get tested if symptoms pop up. But this isn’t the first time Missourians have been asked to practice precaution during a viral outbreak.

More than a hundred years ago, the 1918 flu, often called the Spanish flu, overtook the United States and hit parts of Missouri especially hard. Even then, schools and churches closed and people were told to stay home to protect themselves and each other from what the CDC calls the most severe pandemic in recent history. Between 1918-1919, an estimated 675,000 Americans died from the H1N1 flu virus and an estimated 50 million people worldwide.

Some of us are planners. We plan everything to the last detail and we like to be prepared. And that has complicated life events like childbirth during this time of pandemic uncertainty.

An expectant mother's “birth plan” and the decisions leading up to the birth are a big deal right now with constantly evolving standards set by hospitals, including limitations on visitors, recommended early inductions and covid tests before the big day.

As businesses in mid-Missouri begin to re-open, we’re all moving cautiously and optimistically toward a way forward into the new normal. Some of the first places many of us want to return to are our vibrant small-businesses -- the independent stores, restaurants and bookshops -- that breathe life into our college town here in Columbia and also in towns like Fulton, Moberly and Mexico. But as we all know, this covid crisis has wreaked havoc on small businesses and our public health is still at risk along with our economic health.

On Fridays, we look for inspiration even as we continue to endure a crisis and make our way to a new-normal. In this episode, we look at classical music.

We talk with members and directors of the Missouri Symphony Society about musical performance and the classical music world these days, how it is weathering the crisis, going virtual and giving music lessons.

Sometimes on these episodes we look at the things that are getting us through - the books, the music, the coping strategies and structures that are helping us get by in a crisis. A big answer to this question for many of us is our faith.

But one challenging aspect of this crisis has been that it comes with public health orders and advice to shut down and isolate, in order to stay safe, just when you need those you love around you and you need your faith community.

Rural Missouri has faced some challenging disasters in the past: tornadoes, floods and droughts to name a few in only the past couple of years. And while, yes, the covid crisis has had a large impact on urban areas with more concentrated populations, rural communities are also feeling the reach of the virus on many day to day aspects of life.

The coronavirus crisis is already impacting the way we live our daily lives, it might be shifting the way we see our society and the world, but will it change the way we vote next this year? With local elections creeping up on June 2nd here in mid-Misosuri and with all that’s going on in the world, voting might be not the first thing on your mind right now, but this is a great time to observe how crises can reshape political systems and the way we all think about politics.

In our pre-pandemic world, the election year was on the forefront of many minds rife with issues of disinformation, partisan political messaging and divided discourse. Now, a global crisis has emerged and we’re still facing the same challenges of fragmented information sources, political divisiveness and partisan discourse. Today, even something as non-political as wearing a CDC-recommended face-mask in this climate can carry with it a political connotation.

In this episode, we talk about how music can help us through crisis and also some of our favorite music that itself arose out of crisis.

Helping us with this topic is professor and musicologist Stephanie Shonekan. Professor Shonekan is a familiar name to us here in mid-Missouri as she spent seven years as a faculty member in MU’s Black Studies Dept as well as the School of Music. Her latest book is Black Lives Matter & Music from Indiana University Press. Professor Shonekan is now Chair of Afro-American Studies at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst. But she happens to be in town right now during this crisis and so we thought we’d take advantage of the opportunity to get Professor Shonekan’s expertise on music, history, crisis and inspiration.

Around the state of Missouri, the rise of coronavirus cases has pushed hospitals to allow access for essential procedures only. Visitors are drastically limited, temperatures are taken at the door and routine health checks have been delayed or halted. 

This weekend was supposed to be graduation at MU. Typically, the month of May throughout Mid-Missouri is full of families celebrating -- students in caps and gowns and photo shoots at the columns. The coronavirus pandemic has halted all of that. These days, many students are packed up and living off campus awaiting plans for the fall, all while MU’s administration is tasked with deciding what’s next during this uncertain time. 

Food producers, especially small-scale food producers, have been hit hard by the virus crisis. As farmers markets and other regular access points to consumers have been limited, local producers have had to find alternate avenues for connecting with consumers.

In this episode, we highlight one innovative project that’s been created to address a big problem that this pandemic has created: disrupted supply lines and distribution of food. 

For a week now, our community has been under new rules. Restaurants, gyms, hair salons and churches have re-opened their doors. We are in the hopeful beginning phases of finding a new normal. Our key words have gone from "stay at home" and lockdown, to recovery and reopening.

The state of Missouri is in the first phase of the Show Me Strong Recovery Program and the City of Columbia and Boone County have also issued the first step in reopening guidelines that have been in place for a week.

When it comes to issues arising from the coronavirus crisis that need to be aired out in this forum, our pets might not be the first priority. But yet it seems like a lot of conversations right now involve our animals.

How are they doing? Do our dogs and cats seem stressed out? What’s happening with adoptions and fostering of animals these days? And what about all the wildlife - the fox cubs, coyotes, even snakes - that people seem to be spotting outside their windows. Is the wild encroaching on our space for some reason, or is it just that we’re simply at home more so we’re noticing nature?

As the coronavirus continues to spread, and as states and local governments are looking at re-opening plans - the race is on. Researchers all over the country are working together to find treatments and vaccines.

The FDA and American Red Cross have partnered with the Mayo Clinic for a clinical trial involving “convalescent plasma.” It’s exploring the idea that people who have recovered from an illness now have antibodies for it in their blood that might help in the fight against COVID-19.

And MU Health Care is a partner in this innvovative effort.

Last month, Missouri Gov. Mike Parson signed into law a $6.2 billion supplemental funding package to address the economic crisis brought on by the coronavirus. Now, the state will begin doling out some of those funds to local governments so they can be used to prop up healthcare, education, social programs and more during this challenging time.

You may have seen the call-outs on social media or the messages from local charities in your email inbox. Today, May 5th, has been designated as a worldwide day of philanthropy and generosity - it’s Giving Tuesday. And this year, a lot of people are in need of our generosity. 

As April turns to May, the school year is winding to a close. But the way this particular school year is ending is far beyond what any of us could have imagined just a few months ago.

Back in September, high school seniors probably thought they would be getting ready for prom with their friends right now, or preparing to accept the diploma they’ve worked hard for at graduation. But this year, all of those big moments -- and even many of the small ones -- look a little different. 

In this episode, we talk about Columbia Public Schools, how our schools are making it work right now and how they’re planning for whatever comes next.

It’s Ramadan and many in our community are fasting throughout the day and breaking fast at midnight as they do every year. But this year, Ramadan is happening virtually because of the coronavirus pandemic. We check in to see how the community is adjusting.

In this episode, we also talk about how the about the landscape of art and culture in Columbia is changing during this crisis -- particularly how visual artists are responding to and creating during this crisis.

Being in the midst of a global pandemic has a way of changing things. Our cultural landmarks and touchstones disappear, our way of life and things we hold sacred are disrupted, and sometimes fear can take over. 

We aim to maintain productivity, celebration and connections during a crisis - but sometimes as a culture our responses are not so helpful. What happens when your experience during a pandemic is not one of connectedness and cohesion but one of disruption and disintegration?

In this episode, we talk about cultural response to pandemics, historically and now, and how that response can sometimes involve discrimination, stigma, isolation and what we can do as a community to avoid those responses in favor of something more postive.

Remember when we were all fascinated by the unfolding election year and presidential primaries? 

Today, that seems a lifetime ago. The coronavirus broke out in the United States just in time for the Democratic presidential primary. Around 40 people tested positive after Wisconsin’s primary election, and states are now scrambling to find a better, safer way to vote.

Amid everything else - this is still an election year. Voters in Boone County and throughout Missouri will make decisions on June 2nd - and there’s that other little election coming up in November.

As a community, we've watched businesses close, streets and campuses empty, and more people wear masks and gloves when they leave the house. We’ve watched our world physically change around us.

But for people who are incarcerated, this crisis has looked different. People who are detained in Missouri and elsewhere are largely at the mercy of the environment and whatever it is that’s happening inside prisons.