Blue Mosque in Mazar-e-Sharif , Afghanistan
(Source: d1vinesoul)
It’s already exhausting discussing this any other time of the year, but white people really love to make a special habit of out downplaying us the time when we’re supposed to be highlighted.
For my own sanity, let me just run down a quick list of a couple reasons that BHM is invalid, according to white people .. and why their reasons are bullshit:
I don’t know what parallel universe you’re living in, but the reality is that Black People are separated. We’ve always been. The contributions to science, agriculture, music, theatre of Black People are never discussed. The media, magazines, TV shows, fashion runways, billboards hardly showcase people that look like us, or if they do look like us, they’re a blonde-haired, blue-eyed and/or biracial version. If you’re going to talk about the separation of Black People, please don’t hesitate to mention white supremacy. BHM is necessary. If there is any white person out there who doesn’t respect that BHM was created mainly for the purpose of leveling the white-wash of our classes and textbooks, then guess what? The racism was always alive and kicking, it just needed enough blackness in its face to expose its ugliness.
This one genuinely makes me LOL. Have any of you white people actually researched the different variations of cultural celebration months there are? There’s Italian, Irish, Greek, Polish, German, etc. history months. What happened was probably you all ran out of things to talk about during the other months that have been afforded to you. Lest not forget that the default is white. The standard is white. If anything is entitled “History” or “Anthropology”, it’s usually Western History and will be slathered, dipped and covered in whiteness. In actuality, we should be asking why there’s just a Black History Month, instead of different variations like Nigerian, Ethiopian, West Indies, etc. History month, but since Whiteness is considered so vast and great, it needs to be sectioned off into braches.
We have no choice. If we don’t tell ourselves how amazing and worthy we are, we will collapse. We live in a world where we are not cherished or valued. There are many media outlets which make a routine out of shitting on us. Even Black elite are degraded (Rihanna is called a Niggabitch by a popular Dutch magazine and Beyonce is accused of “rationing her vagina for diamonds”). Besides, you don’t think people in the media are proud of their whiteness, or hold it in a higher regard? If Banana Republic hires 20 White models (and maybe Naomi Campbell if they feel generous), that’s not a direct statement of the pedestal they place their race upon? The only difference is we have to be out and open about our Blackness as a defense mechanism, because it’s always on the attack.
That’s why there is no need for an Ivory Magazine, White History Month or White Entertainment Television. Look at Seventeen, Elle, Vogue, W Magazine, Fox, Vh1, MTV, NBC, CBS, Philosophy/History/Anthropology classes. They all talk showcase, discuss and study whiteness.. this all belongs to you. It’s run by the white people, of the white people and for the white people. The fact that there needs to even be ethnic classes aside from regular History courses should be a good indicator of how non-existent we are in the grand scheme of things.
Just a short 50 years ago, Black People were subjected to being second-class citizens. This was our parents time, our parents experienced this. How dare any of you tell us we’re being racist for creating our own establishment when we were denied entrance into yours? The gall is outstanding to me.
When someone says “there shouldn’t be a BET” (which by the way is still a horrible representation), what’s really being conveyed is “you all don’t deserve to be heard or seen, this is our territory, you are only relevant when we need to talk about welfare and crimes.” This is whiteness, this is white supremacy. This is what we are angry about.
When someone says Black Magazines only further separates you, I think “Not discussing kinky hair, make-up for darker tones, etc in regular magazines kinda already did that”.
And when I hear that shows with Black people as main characters is excluding, this is when I don’t take white people seriously anymore. Because if your privilege is so strong and blinding that you can’t see that you equal everything that’s not explicitly a Black, Latino or Asian institution, then me educating you is a complete waste of my time, energy and sanity.
reblogging because it’s relevant right now.
The wood works like fucking crazy. I’m really trying to void facebook this month son. Really am
Ohh, I feel you! I’m deactivated off facebook this month indefinitely! Save yourself the headache .. Twitter too.
A woman from Slutwalk approaches me about her movement and I, kindly as I possibly could, told her I have no interest. She informs me that, get this,I am letting the oppression of women continue by refusing her my participation. All I could do was laugh in her fucking face and move on with my day.
I am a Black Feminist. I do not care about Slutwalk, why you ask? Because Slutwalk gives not a single fuck about me. To combat patriarchy by spitting in the face of the women that are most afflicted by patriarchy is not only ineffective, it is outlandish and disrespectful.
We’re living in a reality where my women and I are at the bottom in every imaginable aspect in society. So that’s where I will focus my energy. I will focus my energy on the women who get crumbs, rather than on the ones on the top with full-course meals demanding we push and shuck and jive and give to and for them while refusing to afford us the same consideration.
And no, I will not apologize for this. I do not have the time, energy, or willingness to explain why my focus is specifically to the liberation of the Black Woman. If you can’t open your eyes to the real world, instead of your theoretical “we are all one under the sun” bullshit and see that Black Women are the most neglected, most abused and most discarded creed of women on Earth, then frankly you are useless to me and my cause, therefore not warranted an explanation.
I am all too tired of Mainstream Feminists disregarding my specific struggles in this fight and trying to impose a “universal women’s struggle” on us. Especially when we consistently say and facts continue to show, that we are in fact not dealing with a universal struggle, not even close. If this is all what Mainstream Feminism is, then I’ll just stick to myself. I’d rather fight an honest fight alone than to be part of a faux sisterhood that leaves me, yet again, voiceless.
I am tired of Whiteness. I am tired of people making us feel guilty for daring to speak. I am tired of the vilification that comes with demanding equality and respect. I am tired of the dehumanization. I am tired of the derailments. I am tired of people being more preoccupied with the feelings of a White Woman rather than the real pain of a Black Woman. Yall, today was the last day, because they are not getting it. They don’t want to. There are libraries, articles, and many previous conversations that we’ve had that are easily accessible. All of the social commentary that I have written has been saved into one category on my page, specifically for the purpose of it being accessible .. and guess what? I still get anywhere from 3-20 messages a day asking for clarification.
So fuck this, I’m saving my energy for my women, where it’ll actually mean something.
They desecrated Egyptian history by skewing it to make it look like all the accomplishments were that of white people
… and now since they can’t really prove white people ever inhabited Ethiopia, they got the fucking audacity to talk about “well, it’s physically impossible since .. (insert bullshit here)”. Even though there’s never been discredit for Rome doing the exact same thing centuries before.
THIS is why there isn’t a need for any fucking white history month, because even when it belongs to us, you asswipes still take it or try to delegitimize it.
This is easily the most derailing comment that I get, because it does three very harmful things.
First, it manipulates the situation. It makes me (the actual oppressed of race relations) look like the perpetrator. Instead of examining or asking me why I feel disdain toward white people, this statement takes a legitimate problem and makes it about the white person’s temporary feelings instead of a black person’s permanent pain. When you hear someone’s actual lived experience, piled with centuries of degradation and essentially tell them your feelings are more important, that is white supremacy.
Secondly, it invalidates my past experiences. In short, “not all white people are like that” is a rough translation to “you are crazy, you come across some of the bad ones and have the audacity to feel the way you do”, which would be a fair argument, if the entire world hasn’t been a product of white supremacy for the past several centuries. My distrust towards white people is a very necessary tool for survival. It comes from a lack of options. True allies don’t need automatic reassurance; they know they’ve entered a space where they have to prove themselves, because logic, history and lived experience tell us they’re the oppressor.
Lastly, it silences PoC and makes them feel even more isolated. When you tell me that I am not allowed to feel the way I do, while simultaneously stating that having safe spaces for Black People is isolating and doesn’t help race relations, all I’m hearing is “be quiet and stay oppressed, stay marginalized”.
Fine, all white people are not like that, but I reserve the right to be skeptical of every white person I come across, because factually, textually and historically, most white people have been like that. If you can’t deal with, then yes, you are just another white person like that. If it’s hard to accept that I, as a black woman, have experienced microaggression, marginalization and ridicule at the hands of your people, then you are just another white person like that, because you are enabling their actions by silencing me. If you are willing to stifle me while I discuss my pain and frustrations because it makes you uncomfortable, then you are the worst kind of white people who are like that.
Not having KKK burn houses or black people lynched or segregated into their own communities is progress, but it isn’t the end to all. Microaggressions are the new way or dehumanizing Black People, but since we can’t document or prove microaggression, they are laughed at and thrown on the backburner. Having a person tell me “you’re so pretty for a black girl” or “you sound so educated, I’m surprised” is not as urgent as having dogs released on you, so we’re supposed to be satisfied with the meager progression. What the majority of white people mean is “you have crumbs now; you won’t be starving anymore, so leave us alone, while we indulge ourselves in five course meals”.
How do you not see all of this as being harmful or counterproductive?
Mainstream feminism doesn’t work because I can’t fight the oppressions of Black Women with the people who have historically oppressed Black Women.
That’s why there is no need for an Ivory Magazine, White History Month or White Entertainment Television. Look at Seventeen, Elle, Vogue, W Magazine, Fox, Vh1, MTV, NBC, CBS, Philosophy/History/Anthropology classes. They all talk showcase, discuss and study whiteness.. this all belongs to you. It’s run by the white people, of the white people and for the white people. The fact that there needs to even be ethnic classes aside from regular History courses should be a good indicator of how non-existent we are in the grand scheme of things.
Just a short 50 years ago, Black People were subjected to being second-class citizens. This was our parents time, our parents experienced this. How dare any of you tell us we’re being racist for creating our own establishment when we were denied entrance into yours? The gall is outstanding to me.
When someone says “there shouldn’t be a BET” (which by the way is still a horrible representation), what’s really being conveyed is “you all don’t deserve to be heard or seen, this is our territory, you are only relevant when we need to talk about welfare and crimes.” This is whiteness, this is white supremacy. This is what we are angry about.
When someone says Black Magazines only further separates you, I think “Not discussing kinky hair, make-up for darker tones, etc in regular magazines kinda already did that”.
And when I hear that shows with Black people as main characters is excluding, this is when I don’t take white people seriously anymore. Because if your privilege is so strong and blinding that you can’t see that you equal everything that’s not explicitly a Black, Latino or Asian institution, then me educating you is a complete waste of my time, energy and sanity.
*reblogging because this got a lot of notes and i’m proud .. lol
As if dealing with the derailment of MLK Jr. day by white people isn’t enough …
I just realized Black History Month is right around the corner. If I can make it through and last until March without an aneursym, I’ll consider it a good month.
That’s why there is no need for an Ivory Magazine, White History Month or White Entertainment Television. Look at Seventeen, Elle, Vogue, W Magazine, Fox, Vh1, MTV, NBC, CBS, Philosophy/History/Anthropology classes. They all talk showcase, discuss and study whiteness.. this all belongs to you. It’s run by the white people, of the white people and for the white people. The fact that there needs to even be ethnic classes aside from regular History courses should be a good indicator of how non-existent we are in the grand scheme of things.
Just a short 50 years ago, Black People were subjected to being second-class citizens. This was our parents time, our parents experienced this. How dare any of you tell us we’re being racist for creating our own establishment when we were denied entrance into yours? The gall is outstanding to me.
When someone says “there shouldn’t be a BET” (which by the way is still a horrible representation), what’s really being conveyed is “you all don’t deserve to be heard or seen, this is our territory, you are only relevant when we need to talk about welfare and crimes.” This is whiteness, this is white supremacy. This is what we are angry about.
When someone says Black Magazines only further separates you, I think “Not discussing kinky hair, make-up for darker tones, etc in regular magazines kinda already did that”.
And when I hear that shows with Black people as main characters is excluding, this is when I don’t take white people seriously anymore. Because if your privilege is so strong and blinding that you can’t see that you equal everything that’s not explicitly a Black, Latino or Asian institution, then me educating you is a complete waste of my time, energy and sanity.
