Black Voices: Silent No More at Mr. Jefferson's University

In  May 2020, about six weeks following the University of Virginia’s   mandate for all non-essential employees to not return to Grounds, the  need to express pent-up anxiety or frustrations in the form of inward  and outward reflections was shared during a BFS-ERG executive team  meeting. Leftover unresolved feelings from the Summer of Hate (2017)  were discussed, and the idea of an anthology of our written expressions  began to take shape.  COVID-19 is providing an opportunity  for us to do  this as many were working from home (and continue to work from home).  We  are continuing to keep  abreast of local, national, and world events  with limited distractions. In the midst of the pandemic, on June 1,  2020, George Floyd, a 46-year-old citizen of the United States of  America, begged for his life for 8 minutes and 46 seconds.  Police  officers, who were sworn to protect and serve, ignored the pleas.…