Are We There Yet? Week 12

Usually I try to keep this email humorous each week while trying also make a point – but not this week with all that is happening. Emotions have been on a roller coaster since early March, starting with fears about COVID-19 illness and death. We then hit the despair and worry about shutdowns, unemployment, and economic hardship.

There were some glimmers of hope with vaccine development and the start of the re-opening of the economy. Along the way, there were countless acts of kindness. This week, for me at least, it is back to despair as I, like many of you, watched with horror of police brutality resulting in the death of George Floyd, followed by the protests here in the U.S. and now globally.

We at Wolf Group Capital Advisors condemn racism and support the people’s right to protest. We hope and pray that demonstrations will continue to be peaceful and will lead to real and long overdue progress towards achieving social equality in our country.

We are in extraordinary times right now. I hope that we can all reflect on these events and remember who we are and who we strive to be, as individuals, and collectively, as a nation. I hope you and your families remain safe and healthy.

The lists below are some repeats from prior weeks that seem more topical this week.

READING

• Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption by Bryan Stevenson is a compelling true story about the potential for mercy to redeem us, and a clarion call to fix our broken system of justice. The movie is excellent as well. 
• Yellow House—by Sarah M. Broom is a story about a woman growing up in New Orleans with her 11 siblings and her decrepit yellow house that gets destroyed in Hurricane Katrina. It is the story of her family but also about New Orleans and being black in America.

TELEVISION

• When They See Us—In 1989, a jogger was assaulted and raped in New York’s Central Park, and five young people were subsequently charged with the crime. The quintet labeled the Central Park Five, maintained its innocence, and spent years fighting the convictions, hoping to be exonerated. This limited series spans a quarter of a century, from when the teens are first questioned about the incident in the spring of 1989, going through their exoneration in 2002, and ultimately the settlement reached with the city of New York in 2014.

PODCASTS

Unlocking Us with Brene Brown – Brene Brown has spent the past two decades studying courage, vulnerability, shame, and empathy and is the author of five #1 New York Times bestsellers: The Gifts of Imperfection, Daring Greatly, Rising Strong, Braving the Wilderness, and her latest book, Dare to Lead, which is the culmination of a seven-year study on courage and leadership.