Art . Culture . UncategorizedOn June 19, 2020 by admin

I’ve been pretty quiet since Memorial Day because I have very strong feelings about what white folks should and should not be doing in the Black Lives Matter movement at this stage.

My point of view is carefully honed from the last three decades I’ve spent learning about what marginalized people in the States go through, and testing my “right role” within structures of white supremacy and institutionalized racism. It’s been a long strange trip, y’all.

I’ve been quiet because I feel that now isn’t the time to hear jackshit from white folks unless they are hollering at a protest or advocating in their workplaces, schools, churches and families. I firmly believe Black folks and Indigenous folks and trans folks, and other marginalized folks, do not need to hear “that we care,” that “we acknowledge our privilige,” that “we will work to change the system.” They need to be heard and see us enacting change.

During THIS stage, there is incredible attention on the #BlackLivesMatter movement and leaders. And that is exactly the moment when white folks need to keep our mouths SHUT so the attention STAYS on the Black voices and leaders that need to be heard and learned from.

But I also recognize that a lot of white folks want to help make change and they are struggling. So, I’m compromising with myself today despite my discomfort. Because that’s how we all step forward. Put my feelings and attachment to an ideal behind me to take steps now.

Basic frameworks for my approach:

• White folks created the problem and white folks need to change it. It’s not that the white folks living today created it; those of us who are not Donald Dump or Betsy DeVos didn’t. But we have the privileges that Black and brown folks don’t, so it’s on us to use that power and influence to change the state of things, and make sure those privileges become rights that everyone has, and we protect.
• Unfortunately, as established, Black and brown folks are living closest to the problem, which means they are probably closest to at least some of the solutions.
• But Black and brown folks are also the best equipped to make clear what exactly the problems are, and how they are experienced. And until we get real clear about that, and how the problems manifest, we will have trouble dismantling the white supremacist ideologies and systems that are fuqing up the whole world—but mostly Black and brown people.

What this fundamentally means is that the dynamic I am describing in the above bullets requires a role reversal white folks are uncomfortable with, and therefore bad at, and therefore struggle with—even when they really do want to be great allies. In the dynamic I’m describing, Black and brown folks are the leaders and experts, and white folks are the ones who get in the dirt and do the dirty work to make change, the thankless, difficult work that has to be done on a daily basis to actually change our world. Everyone has the Drum Major Instinct. White folks don’t like being novices or followers any more than anyone else, but they are conditioned to believe they deserve positions of leadership, and in this movement—for the most part, we don’t. So, do we REALLY wanna pass the mic? No. And that’s why so many of us suck at being allies. Because we want to prove we’re allies, and because we don’t want to relinquish our positions of power, influence and leadership.

What I’m suggesting is the opposite: Black and Brown people are very clear about what needs to change and how to change it. White people need to enact that change: following Black and brown folks’ directions.

The Creative Force focuses on solutions. We’ve laid out some problems, let’s get to the solutions. Here’s what you can do right now–the dirty work with no praise that actually makes change:

• Know that you will make mistakes, and decide right now that you will not be put off by them, but learn from them and get better for the Movement. To paraphrase Glenn E. Martin, no one is at risk of mastering anything, so be kind to yourself.
• Promote Black and brown leaders. That’s what I’ve been doing on both of my Instagram accounts since George Floyd was killed. I have plenty of Black friends, acquaintances and colleagues who are experts. THEY are the folks we need to listen to. So, I grab a post from their feeds, and tell my audiences what they are brilliant at and suggest following them. Some of them include–in no particular order:
• Keonna Hendricks, DEI and Arts Educator
• Clarissa Cummings, Organizer and Educator, Urbanational
• Ayo Okunseinde, Artist
• Vince Ballentine, Artist
• Patrick Dougher, Artist
• Kamara Thomas, Songwriter and Musician
• Kamey Butler, Marketing expert and Healer
• Kamau Ware, Historian and Writer
• AOE Studios, Writer
• Mohagany Brown, Writer
• Ashley James, Curator

• Definitely interrogate your privilege. Please don’t shout it from the rooftops for accolades, because that’s about you. Instead, ask yourself how you can use your power, position, access, freedoms, etc. for good. What can you DO with your power? I’m a writer, I consciously only interview brilliant artists of color and women for my blog—because I value what I can learn from them and believe the world needs to learn from them. I advocate, amplify and share.
• I have also had jobs with some level of influence. At work, I: Advocate for Black and brown voices when they are not in the room to advocate for themselves—based on what I have learned from them, personally or through my education. Yes, you may take a hit for this—on the record or off; just remember that Black and brown folks often suffer a lot worse when they speak up for themselves. Your privilege is being allowed to continue speaking on the issues when too many POC are/ were just pushed out.
• I call out white supremacist/ institutionally racist practices when I see them. They’re usually blind spots that are not necessarily controversial once they are named, but my education has allowed me to notice them when many white folks who did not seek out an education on marginalized peoples’ cultures and histories are simply unaware.
• Follow the lead of Black and brown colleagues when they are leading. (Black and brown folks should not carry the whole weight as per above, but if they want to lead, white folks need to shut up and get out of the way because have a lot to learn and because we are not the experts.) Make sure you verbally, noticeably second them so that others who also support them will be encouraged to do the same.
• If you are in a position to explicitly support Black and brown colleagues, go ahead and let them know you want to support them, do not want to supersede their leadership, but want to carry your share of the weight. You can say that you would appreciate their direction about what they feel is the right role for you in a given situation (meetings, etc) because you don’t want them to carry the full weight—if they would like to direct your energy. Let them know you also know you will make mistakes and wish to be made aware of them and learn from them.
• Advocate for diversifying hiring practices, often with data, more often with a strong argument. P.s. Money talks: diverse teams repeatedly come up with stronger solutions, technologies and services.
• Advocate for diversifying Boards, especially by suggesting actual Black and brown experts in their fields by name—again often with data, more often with strategy. Don’t let anyone tell you, “they’re not qualified,” because how we “qualify” expertise is often located in the very white supremacist ideologies that created this bullshit, so let’s think outside the box when we are evaluating what “expertise” is—because it comes in many forms. White supremacist ideologies created hurdles to jump in order to preserve its power.
• Suggest ways we CAN promote the strengths and needs of Black and brown populations instead of allowing the “but we can’t because/ until….” objections to allow groups to put off change “until x, y or z happens.” If we don’t have N resource, we will use the M we do have now. Be scrappy. If the Black Panthers can feed every kid in Oakland, we can find a Black curator to lead the African collection—whether they have a white supremacist-approved pedigree or not.
• Be very, very careful with your language. Learn how to take edits, learn to accept it when you are unintentionally racist in your speech or writing and don’t repeat the mistake. Learn how to be inclusive and check your biases—by first knowing what your biases are, usually planted in you by the world. Not all Black and brown people are poor, and not all poor people are Black or brown. E.g. when we talk about “under-resourced” populations, let’s remember we’re talking about a specific set of resources. Case in point, let’s not say Flatbush kids “don’t get enough arts,” because lots of Flatbush kids do. Carnival and Jouver alone provide: music, dance, costume design and creation, as well as performance. Just because it wasn’t the arts you had in mind, doesn’t mean Flatbush kids don’t have “the arts.”
• Learn. Read books, watch films, take a course, go to POC-lead diversity, equity, inclusion and access (DEI&A) trainings. They are literally the least you can do. Watch 13^th, read some James Baldwin, Richard Wright, a slave narrative, some William Wells Brown, Octavia Butler, and then get into some new folks like adrienne maree brown and Mark Lamont Hill and the Breakbeat Poets and Phoebe Robinson and Bryan Stevenson.
• Give money, if you can. Black Lives Matter and Color of Change are a great place to start. Your $5 actually does make a difference. But even better—spend money. Spend your money at Black-owned businesses.
• Sign petitions, send letters, make phone calls. Hell, send those little texts that are ONE word to a 6-digit number! Color of Change is a great place to start.

Finally, learn how to face whatever feelings you have about “being white,” racism, white supremacy, having to play catch-up now on all that you don’t know and will need to know. This will be hard. It will again force you to acknowledge what you don’t know, didn’t want to face and why, or what resistance you hold toward the movement and why. I know because I’ve been doing this since I was 12 years old. My own journey as an ally has been personal, educational and professional. It started when I was 12 and fell in love with a Black boy in a racist migration city. It continued when I went to a majority-white (by mistake) university and studied African American literature, Spanish language (Latino/a culture) literature, and history including Caribbean, Native and African as well as power studies. It continued when I moved to a reservation and applied to Native Literature PhD programs, then got a NYC English Education program degree, and then worked on diversity, equity, inclusion and access (DEI & A), arts and education projects at an Ivy League university and major museum. During this time, I married a Black man, and am now raising a mixed boy, having worked with the Alliance for School Integration & Desegregation and taken an aligned course with the NYU Metro Center for Research on Equity and the Transformation of Schools. My personal library is primarily comprised of African American literature, Native literature, education and justice studies, as well as psychology/ creativity/ healing and soul-based works, fiction and poetry.

June 12^th, Loving Day, made possible less terrifying so many of my love relationships, and the life of the child I am proud to raise up into our world, but it was Juneteenth that made it possible for my child to live a free life. So this is the moment I am taking hold of to invite my white brothers and sisters into this movement. I’m attempting in this moment to carry the weight of my Black and brown brothers and sisters, AND expand the action this movement requires. After you read this, please join a Juneteenth activity today, here’s a link for NYC: http://amsterdamnews.com/news/2020/jun/19/juneteenth-event-2020/?page=2

If you are serious about becoming an ally and dismantling systemic racism and institutional white supremacy, you will at some point have to face yourself. I was really lucky and always had Black friends, male and female, who I could check in with. But not everyone has that—and Black and brown folks should not be asked to do our emotional (or other) labor. So, I recommend finding someone like me—who knows what you are going through in taking this journey. There will be pain. There will be anger—maybe at yourself, maybe at others. There may be fear and disgust. There will be levels. You will find a new level of modesty and empathy. Humble will become one of your daily practices. Find someone like me to talk to, empathize, help you work through it. Black and brown folks don’t deserve to do any more of white folks’ emotional labor and they are too often asked just that. Even in this. Even when it is white folks who need to get stronger for the movement. Come find a white ally who has walked the walk. We can help you get through it.

As always, I sign this with “All My Relations,” because we are a human family. The Master-Slave history dehumanized us all, but it’s on the privileged to heal and change the hell s/he wrought. To paraphrase Cornell West: love in community is justice. This is our path of love.

Mitakuye Oyasin,

Mariah

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