DETROIT – Former Michigan Rep. Sherry Gay-Dagnogo said last year was an “absolute blur.”
She said the year was difficult and emotional for her family.
“Reflecting this time last year, certainly it started to become very concerning. The loss of Isaac Robinson, my former colleague, was certainly a point where it became real, and then my sister getting sick, getting COVID 19 and then passing two weeks after being the hospital,” Gay-Dagnogo said.
She said she still remembers the day her sister, Julena Gay died.
“Julena. We call her the Silver Fox. She was just charismatic. She had the most beautiful silver hair that you wanted to see. She had this smile, that was just unbelievable. She cared for her children. She cared for me, as I was her little sister. She was the fighter,” Gay-Dagnogo said.
She said her sister was also a painter and a baker.
“If it was Christmas she would have a table full of cakes and pies,” she said.
Sherry said the last year has exposed a lot, not just for the city of Detroit, but the entire country.
“That’s really disheartening. Certainly, we weren’t ready but it revealed what we already knew. The impact of poverty on urban America.”
She said it’s not just poverty. But also the lack of food choices, transportation and access to quality education and medical care.
“The disparate impact that COVID-19 had on our community is not just because it’s COVID but because of COVID it’s highlighted,” she said.