Months into the pandemic and days into the social unrest that followed the murder of George Floyd, I had an encounter with a black bird. Like most mornings, since we’d been locked down, I stepped outside to have a cup of coffee. My usual solace was interrupted by squawking from a black bird in the tree. She was frantic and relentless – “What’s going on Sis?” In that interspecies connection, the black bird echoed the feelings of despair, hopelessness, and frustration that had weighed on me… weighed on us so heavily for the past few weeks.