Falling All Around Me*

Most of the day it rained. That hardly mattered because I was on the computer texting people, making arrangements for the memorial for Malcolm on Saturday: who will bring food, who will bring coffee. Is the person with the sound system coming, what about a generator, who will bring an easel for the large photo, and who will be in charge of security (just in case). 

More heartbreak. Dan Handelman, the man who has been keeping track of police brutality and police killings in Portland since 1992, has had a stroke and has been in ICU since Sunday. He is a thoroughly good man, a man like Malcolm and a friend of Malcolm’s, dedicated to doing all he can for justice. He has never been paid for his excellent work that has provided many lawyers with vital information and was the reference base for Donna Hayes’ play, Silent Voices. 

The About page on his website makes it sound like it’s a whole group of people working together, but it’s mostly just him. The extra is one of my favorite photos of him, made in 2022 when he was standing out in a summer rain with his battered Justice Police Accountability sign, double-masked and persistent. Persistent, as he has been in working for justice for so many years. A wonderful man. I hope he is able to recover.

*The title is a reference to the song by Sweet Honey In the Rock, "They Are Falling All Around Me."