This is an all-agency email that I sent when Issue #1 of this webcomic dropped.

Like six years ago, some really smart person (ironically, I can't remember who it was!) pointed out that the phrase "Black lives matter" is as much about life as it is death. If you don't appreciate and celebrate the lives of the people gunned down by the police, you're erasing who they were and using their death as just another statistic.

Well-intentioned as this may be, lamenting someone's death without any real sense of loss is itself a form of dehumanization.

Earlier this week, there was some talk of Nike not posting any new content until they got more clarity on the situation in Minnesota. This would've delayed the comic's launch when, at least in my mind, this was an ideal time to introduce Mari to the world. Telling her story, and stories like hers, is as integral to the meaning of "Black lives matter" as the outrage over the latest "officer-involved shooting."

Thankfully, things went on according to plan. Because while a charming, slice-of-life comic may seem like a distraction from taking on a brutal dystopia, it's actually the opposite: a win that, small it may seem, is a really important step in understanding what's really at stake here.