Let Me Get Something Straight

The author’s parents.

Over this long, luxurious, restful Thanksgiving Break, I had the misfortune of bumping into a Highly Unfavorable Person from my past. I allowed HUP to buy me lunch and we had a very interesting conversation about race.

HUP: You’re pretty pro black these days, huh?

Me: Well, I am half black in a world that DOES see color, so why wouldn’t I be?

HUP: Just don’t forget where you came from, you are half white after all. It doesn’t make sense for you to hate white people.

*side note, HUP is biracial as well, black and white. He also attended the same university as me but graduated a couple of years before I attended, so he’s not stupid, he just says stupid sh*t sometimes.

I want to get something very clear. I DO NOT HATE WHITE PEOPLE.

How could I? I was raised in a loving home by a white mother and black father. I was very close, actually closer, to the white side of my family (although they could say some pretty problematic things sometimes) than I ever was to the black side (oh, they could too) of my family. I grew up with mostly white friends, and all white teachers. I am half white, to hate white people would mean hating myself and all those people who nurtured me into who I am today.

If my pro-blackness confuses anyone, let me explain.

First off, you do not have to be black to be pro-black. Anyone can be pro-black. To be pro-black means that you understand that society treats black people differently, ahem, *unjustly* and has done so historically throughout history. Pro-black means that you understand that black people need a little more uplifting and support in a world that is constantly trying to tell us we ain’t sh*t.

Second, I am biracial. I am half black. However, I am very fair skinned, and can pass for white or Latina under certain circumstances. I understand that this grants me certain privileges compared to my darker skinned brothers and sisters. However, because I am biracial, and America still adopts that “one drop rule” (we have a “BLACK” president, even though he is biracial and was raised predominantly by his white mother) I am an “other.” I will never be viewed as the “norm.”

Third, I have so many black family members, friends, co-workers. If you watch the news you know, it’s not easy out here being a black person. Black people are shot and killed by police or sent to prison at a disproportionate rate than white people are. Seriously, look at the news how are black people portrayed in the media? Just go look and then realize why black people have my support.

So, yes I am pro-black and I am proud. That does not mean I am anti-white. I do not hate white people. To hate an entire group of people based on the color of their skin would make me a racist (although reverse racism does NOT exist, but thats for a different blog post).

What I do hate are the the systems of oppression against people of color that are perpetuated by white people. If you are white, bi-racial, or non-black, be an ally for black people. Don’t just sit back in the shadows and watch your fellow humans being slaughtered, by cops, the media, the state. Speak out against injustices. Become a mentor to a disadvantaged  black youth. Get to know your black neighbor, and don’t refer to them as your black neighbor. The same goes for black people. Too often we are quick to dismiss white people as the enemy. White people are not our enemy and can in fact be our greatest ally.  It sounds cheesy, but it’s true. Race should never be a dividing factor. Difference is cool, it should be discussed, shared, embraced. We need more love in this world, less hate, goddammit!

Solidarity With Mizzou

Photo Credit: Emma Wishnow

In case you live under a rock…

Over the past few days “racial tensions in Missouri have reached a boiling point.”
Or, more accurately, black students, who pay thousands of dollars for their educations, are tired of feeling like outsiders on their own campus.

The University of Missouri, like many other predominantly white institutions, has a tense racial history. Racial incidents have been recorded every year at the school for the past five years, and most likely long before then as well. It’s not surprising to me at all. We live in a world where Muslim students were killed in Chapel Hill for no apparent reason other than they are Muslim, and where the racial climate on my own campus is tense. Just last semester the black community was called “niggers” and “monkeys” on the semi-anonymous app YikYak after an impromptu step show on the quad. However, white organizations regularly hold events on the quad at random during the year and never experience any type of racist backlash for it.

Less than a month ago while driving near my own campus a white girl my age almost hit me with her car when I had the right of way and her first instinct after I beeped at her was to call me and my friend “ugly niggers.” So I absolutely am not shocked that these types of incidents are still happening, but I am tired. Like so many other people of color, I am tired. Tired of feeling uncomfortable in a space that I pay thousands of dollars to be in, and tired of having to prove that I have a right to exist in this space.

This is why the work that #ConcernedStudent1950, The Mizzou U chapter of the NAACP, the black football players who refused to play until their voices were heard and their white teammates and white coach who stood in solidarity, and the countless other students who are protesting matter. I appreciate all these people for the brave work they are doing because they are paving the way for students like me, who also face discrimination at school, to let all of our voices be heard as one. I’d like to take a moment to thank these students for their incredible bravery in the face of such ugly and damaging oppression.

It Started Off With A Diss How Did It End Up Like This…

That’s how Taylor Swift saw it. A diss directed at the Princess of Pop, by Rap Queen Nicki Minaj. In July of 2015 MTV announced their nominations for Video of the Year. Those nominees were Taylor Swift for her video “Bad Blood,” Ed Sheeran for “Thinking Out Loud,” Kendrick Lamar for “Alright,” Bruno Mars for “Uptown Funk,” and First Lady President of the United States Beyonce Carter-Knowles for “7/11.” Upon hearing these nominations, Nicki

Minaj felt some type of way, and rightly so.

Via Nicki Minaj’s Twitter Account 

If you follow pop culture, you know. Anaconda was everywhere this past year. Everyone re-mixed it, Ellen Degeneres did a parody, socks, pillows, t-shirts, tote-bags, memes bore the iconic image of Nicki Minaj in a squat position looking back at it. Feminists everywhere adopted the slogan “my anaconda don’t.” The visual in the video of Nicki Minaj teasing the camera in a fun sexy way in a kitchen with a banana before aggressively biting down on said banana is such a strong and important statement. She is a beautiful sexy being, but one not to be objectified. Madam Tussaud forever immortalized this video in wax in her Las Vegas museum, or at least until the sun explodes and melts the entire Earth.

Nicki’s video and image in this video is iconic, and it deserved to be recognized as such. Instead she was nominated for Best Female Video and Best Hip-Hop Video. Let me tell you why this is bullshit. Nicki’s video was relegated to categories that are confining of her artistry. Best Female video, competing against other women, and Best Hip-Hop competing against other hip hop artists, confined to her black womanhood instead of being in competition against the best of the best in the pop music industry. Video of the Aside from Nicki’s video being deserving, which we could argue for or against all day, she had a good point in her tweet. The nominated artists in the Video of the Year category, save for Kendrick Lamar, are all artists that are generally adopted and favored by white audiences. They have a certain sound, style, and message that are acceptable, if not “respectable.” They don’t often push the envelop or are considered “provocative.” They are the type of artists you could show your grandmother.

Nicki on the other hand, is provocative. Anaconda’s lyrics are sexual, her image is sexual, everything about her embodies what makes White America uncomfortable. Why is Nicki sexualized though? Perhaps because she has a big butt and is comfortable with her sexuality, oh and the fact that, historically, women of color have been deemed “closer to nature” and overly sexualized since the dawn of time. Perhaps if Nicki had made a video that made viewers more “comfortable” and was more “respectable” and toned down, she would have been nominated? Perhaps if her body, the one being celebrated in the video, fit into more Eurocentric standards of beauty she would have been nominated? We can’t know for sure because we like to pretend we live in a world where ~we don’t see color~ (which is problematic in itself), but we can ASSume.

And now…back to this b**** that had a lot to say about her…Taylor…what’s good?

White Media’s favorite feminist, Taylor Swift, immediately took the “diss” to heart.

Via Taylor Swift’s Twitter Account 

SMH.

I don’t like pitting women against each other either, but for the sake of this article, I have to. Taylor’s naive reaction completely glossed over the real issue Nicki was addressing in her tweet, racism and body politics within the music industry, and made it seem as though Taylor was the victim and Nicki was a bully. It honestly reminded me of Audre Lorde’s piece, “The Master’s Tools Will Never Dismantle The Master’s House” when she discussed mainstream white feminists complete lack of common sense and refusal to acknowledge difference and intersectionality. Lorde said one thing in particular that struck with me, she talked about how the conference she went to where she was one of two black women invited to speak among dozens of white speakers, how these women hired nannies of color to take care of their children while they were at this convention discussing feminists issues. Completely unaware of, and ignoring the specific types of unique issues and feminism that addresses the issues that concern their nannies of color taking care of their white children.

Hypocrisy, and this is where it gets tricky and where misunderstandings happen. As a feminist, I don’t like to divide us into White Feminists and Black Feminists, because for one it erases all the other feminists out there, and it does “pit” women against each other, a sort of Us versus Them mentality that is problematic. It’s hard not to divide us though. The media loves celebrating certain mainstream feminists: Lena Dunham, Hilary Clinton, Taylor Swift, while simultaneously slut shaming, body shaming, and dehumanizing feminists of color. When this whole situation between Nicki and Taylor happened, so many news sites supported Nicki, but even more painted her as a “bully,” Salon Magazine even referred to her as a “savage,” a term that would never be used against any white person, ever. Taylor was labeled a helpless “victim” by many of the same sites that called Nicki a bully who ignited a “feud.” Nicki’s point was proven through the portrayal of her and Taylor in the media. “Some” bodies are immediately made into a fragile victim, and other bodies are labeled a savage bully.

Fortunately, girl power reigned supreme in the end. Taylor and Nicki apologized to each other for the misunderstanding. When Nicki won Best Hip Hop video of the year (the only woman nominated in that category!) Taylor was front row center cheering her on. In the end, this is what feminism is about, supporting other women, those different and similar from you. It is also important though, to empathize with difference even if you cannot directly identify with it.

 

An Open Letter To Raven-Symoné

Photo Credit: gabsgomez via Flickr

Dear Raven-Symoné,

You don’t have to coon like this…

*Side note on my use of the word “coon” since I don’t want to be problematic. In this context I’m using the word to describe a person of color whose sole purpose is to entertain white people. The term has historical connotations. This blog defines the term and it’s history well.

Raven-Symoné is a black woman, hails from Atlanta, GA, the black Mecca of America, grew up on The Cosby Show perhaps the most black centric show in history, and has seemingly normal parents who raised her as a black woman. So why is she saying stupid shit that is damaging to the black community that *used to love and adore her. I say used to because I think a lot of black people are tired of her, but also feel sorry for her. Cooning is honestly sad, and reflective of self hate.

Let’s discuss her first faux-pas. Back in 2014 Raven sat down for a now infamous interview with Black Female Billionaire Oprah Winfrey. At the time, Raven had just publicly come out as a lesbian and Oprah asked her if she wanted to be labeled “gay.” Raven responded, “I want to be labeled a human who loves humans, [and] I’m tired of being labeled. I’m an American; I’m not an African-American, I’m an American.” She also said a couple of other things and then another big thing, “I am an American, and that’s a colorless person.”

Yikes. (That was actually Oprah’s initial response/warning, “don’t set the twitter on fire.”) Set “the twitter” on fire she did. Black twitter came for her with vengeance, and rightfully so. I can completely understand being tired and frustrated with the endless labels that come with being out of the “norm” in society. I get it. It’s frustrating when my white friends introduce themselves to people and it’s just that, an introduction. For me, an introduction to someone new is a dive into my racial makeup, “what are you????” they ask as if I’m some alien species. Though I do not identify as queer, I can understand why it would be annoying to have to identify as such. Why can’t we just all be “humans” and transcend the bounds of color, gender, sexuality and whatever other label people want to paste on our foreheads?

Here’s why. WE ARE NOT CHEESE. WE CAN NOT BE MELTED AND BLENDED INTO ONE DELICIOUS POT OF MEGA CHEESE. America is not a melting pot and we do not live in a post racial society. Feeding into the whole “I don’t see color” mentality does not help to end racism at all. If you “don’t see color,” you are privileged. You live in a position where the color of your skin does not define who you are, and you are lucky to be able to live that way. Erasing color erases the unique situations people of color face in life. We are forced to see color because the colors we wear on our skin everyday have certain stigmas attached to them that we can’t seem to shake. Black men have to see color because they cannot walk down the street in a hoodie without being stopped and searched. Black trans women have to see color because they are targeted and murdered at alarming rates for living in their skin. All people of color feel the color of their skin, the slant of their eyes, the kink in their hair, the religious clothing they wear, being judged and scrutinized the second they walk into a room filled with non people of color. Suddenly they are the minority in the room, and whatever it is that makes them the “other” is leading to their subjugation within that room.

Refusing to see color is lazy, and frankly, when people say it they sound like complete condescending asshats. I understand wanting to judge people not by the color of their skin but by the content of their character, but it’s not realistic. It’s also kind of rude to assume that people of color don’t want to their skin color to be part of their identity. Not seeing color assumes that there is something wrong with the color that is being erased by that stupid statement. What is wrong with color? Black is beautiful and comes with a rich and proud history that did NOT begin with slavery. Some people may argue, “we are all humans.” Yep, we are, and some of us are black humans, brown humans, tan humans, and despite all the injustices we have faced, we are proud of the skin we are in.

Modern Day Stupidity

Since that incident, Raven has gone on to say some even more ignorant things. She has recently been appointed young-ish token black on The View. A morning talk show that I just can’t grasp my head around. Barbara Walters, you are an icon, why did you bring this trash to my TV? Seriously, what credentials do these people really have to be discussing most of the issues they discuss? But anyway, here we have Raven as a representative of the black community on the view, because people of color don’t have the luxury of denouncing/distancing people from our communities, if they’re black they unfortunately represent all of us no matter what stupidity comes from their mouths. (Example, when brown people engage in violence, all brown people are deemed terrorist, when a white person engages in violence not all white people are deemed violent, the aggressor is a “lone” shooter, mentally ill, etc.) She uses this platform to appeal to white audiences, totally dismissing and antagonizing the audience that she actually represents.

More recently she has said two things that have angered the black community enough for someone to form a petition (https://www.change.org/p/barbara-walters-petition-to-remove-raven-symone-from-the-view) to remove her from the view. The first comment was “I’m not gonna hire you if your name is Watermelondrea.” OH PLEASE, RAVEN- (emphasis on the hyphen) SYMONÉ. Your name is stylized and non-traditional. On this particular episode your hair was dyed bright red and styled into a mohawk, but you wouldn’t hire someone named “Watermelondrea.” Who is to say Watermelondrea isn’t just as qualified as Tim? You know what, let me not even get started with the names because I can talk all day about how society has conditioned us to think Tchaikovsky, Michelangelo, Aristotle are cool names, but Watermelondrea isnt. Basically, what Raven said hurt. It hurt because black people face so much discrimination from people of other races that it hurt to hear the same type of discrimination coming from “one of our own.” Raven did apologize for her words, but honestly the damage was done. Her true feelings were shown.

The second problematic thing Raven said were her comments after the violent arrest of a young black teenage girl in South Carolina. After discussing the video, Raven said,

“My mom always taught me: I was born this color, I’m gonna have to deal with the things that are happening, and you come together and work it out. But when I’m in a situation, I definitely don’t want to cause worse things to happen to me. It sucks sometimes.”

What she failed to do was address the systems at work that allowed a grown ass man to come into a high school, what is supposed to be a safe place for students, and violently arrest a young woman who was not causing physical harm to anybody at the time. Instead she blamed the victim. Saying, “when I’m in a situation, I definitely don’t want to cause worse things to happen to me” in regards to this situation, is no different from blaming a woman for her own rape and saying something along the lines of “she shouldn’t have been drinking or wearing that dress.” Even if the girl did something wrong, at the end of the day she is a child, one that is suffering after the loss of her mother and grandmother and who could use a little empathy, not physical harm.

Raven is ignorant, point blank period. Instead of use this platform she was gifted to uplift people of color, she is using it to cause harm instead. I’ll say it again, when people of color are put on these platforms they are representative of the black community as a whole, and the self-hate that Raven is spewing is not indicative of the black community as a whole. It’s honestly sad. It is clear to me that Raven has not learned how to love and accept herself as a black woman, and I hope that one day something will click and she will be happy in her own skin. Until then, sign that petition to get her kicked off The View. As a matter of fact lets create a petition to get the view and all of the other awful day-time television shows taken off the air forever.