125039 May 2026

The number is a central recurring figure in the essay "Day 10," written by Kiese Laymon . This piece is part of his 2020 collection, How to Slowly Kill Yourself and Others in America: Essays . Meaning of the Number

Laymon juxtaposes the mounting death toll with the refusal of leaders, like Donald Trump and Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves, to mandate masks or acknowledge policy errors. 125039

He reflects on the danger posed to his ninety-year-old grandmother, a Black woman from Mississippi with a compromised immune system, whose caregiver had contracted the virus. The number is a central recurring figure in

that address the intersection of race and the pandemic. How to Slowly Kill Yourself and Others in America: Essays He reflects on the danger posed to his

He notes the disparity between the wealth generated by his speaking tours and the grueling manual labor his grandmother performed for decades to earn the same amount. If you'd like to dive deeper, I can help you with: Summarizing other essays in Laymon's collection.