Running into Summer

Liberty 2026

Life has moved exceptionally fast this spring. I am weeks behind on some emails, responses, and tasks, and I am peering at a hard June 1st deadline with a very weary eye.

So, naturally, I took every moment this weekend to spend with my wife and children.

Rest feels like something I need to earn sometimes, but it is the absolute glue that keeps my brain together. I hit a wall when I focus too hard for too long. My spirit might be willing to put in additional hours, but my brain will call a timeout. What is disconcerting is that as I get older, those timeouts get longer if I don’t actively plan for them. I need to be ahead of my brain and body’s need for recuperation, or I will be down for the count longer than I want to be. That’s just a thing that happens with age—even to people like me who seem to have an excess of energy.

I’m happy I did. After our Saturday at the Chabot Space Center in Oakland, church, and a day at the beach with my lovely, goofy bride, I am ready to head nose-deep into this intense work.

Currently, I am:

• Actively writing and editing my Myth & Marrow script and music to be finalized by June 1st. I need to get the final version to my incredible co-performer with enough time to work on what we need to handle independently. That way, we can go ham on in-person rehearsals when I return to the East Coast in June. I’ve pushed this deadline back twice now because of how intense April and May proved to be. I am so blessed to have busy months, but they were really busy nonetheless!
• Very actively fundraising for the Labor Pains Collective, both for the organization and several individual initiatives. Never turn up your nose at development folks—it is hard work! It requires a level of detail, organization, and personality that I don’t always feel like I have. Each week this spring has literally brought a new task that I must learn and master by week’s end just to move forward. It is the fastest-paced environment I have ever worked in, and it’s kind of cool that I am the one designing it. I feel like I am going very slowly, but I am also being very intentional so I don’t fall into the pitfalls my colleagues have expressed finding themselves in. I want this work to extend beyond me and without me, and it must be sustainable to do so. I will go at a snail’s pace if I need to to ensure that happens.
• Developing the back office for Labor Pains Collective, which includes building our board. The first two items on my plate have pushed this to the forefront. I am still seeking board members, and I am most interested in Black women who are unafraid to pursue power and all the challenges that come with it. This is a terrifying and invigorating task, but an absolutely necessary one.
• Planning content and marketing for June. I cannot forget to plan! There are too many opportunities to engage new friends that I don’t want to miss just because I am too busy doing other things.
• Constructing life-sized body maps for the exhibit! Oh yeah, it’s finally happening! LOL. I have designed them, sketched them, figured out the materials, decided how to mount them, and I’m playing around with the lighting. All of these things I never thought I’d actually be doing, I am doing for real—and for a real, live audience this summer. I’ve built an entire pop-up experience that, if I hit my fundraising goals, I will be able to bring to just about any flat, open space to engage an audience. That is SUPER exciting, especially because I work on both coasts. My next major hurdle will be to promote this exhibit and experience to other locations throughout the country, particularly those connected to Black American women and the Underground Railroad.

Does any of this sound exciting to you?

Here’s how you can get involved:

• Join the Myth & Marrow Music Preview: Come to my live listening party on TikTok Live (@metacocomom) over Juneteenth weekend! Follow the account to stay updated. I will be singing some of the music from the upcoming July 4th premiere live and giving talks about the inspiration and concepts behind the tracks.
• Follow Along on Instagram: Follow the @laborpainsproject account on IG for the latest updates on the July 4th premiere. Share updates in your stories to help us generate some buzz!
• Sign Up for Jury Duty! If you want to spend this historic Fourth of July doing something truly historic (and still have plenty of time for grilling and fireworks), sign up to be on the Citizen Jury for the July 4th premiere of Myth & Marrow: An American Drama. You can sign up right now at rethinklabor.org/juryduty.