I am ashamed to say that up until the brutal murder of George Floyd and the events that have followed hereafter, I have been naively unaware, protected in my bubble of white privilege, of just how much people of colour have suffered at the hands of those whose job it is to protect and those who hate purely due to the pigmentation of someone’s skin. I have felt unsure about whether to talk about this subject, as I will never understand whats it’s like to live my life in fear; however, in the face of this injustice I decided that I must use my small platform to speak out. I also worried that I may be judged for not speaking out straight away, as due to my previously mentioned ignorance, I have taken the time to educate myself on the matter. The longer I waited, the harder it became to use my voice; although, I have since realised that speaking out, no matter at what time, is better than not speaking out at all, and is particularly important to continue to do now more than ever as our feeds start to return to normal. Although, what does normal even mean when black people continue to suffer? I also want to make it clear that I am by no means perfect and will probably unintentionally get a lot of things wrong but it is better to be wrong than not use your voice at all, as
“If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor” (Desmond Tutu).
One thing that I have noticed crop up on social media again and again is that it’s not the black community’s responsibility to educate us, they have been through enough so in this post I will be sharing a compilation of resources that I have found useful so far in helping to better myself, black voices to listen to and black creatives to support. Although, I also want to express that I am by no means done and there is always more to learn and do.
Allyship
Allyship is a life-long process that means you are willing to act with and for others to end oppression and create equality, even if the issue does not affect you. Being an ally isn’t simple, it means having difficult conversations with people in your orbit, donating whatever you can, signing petitions, learning, calling out racism you see in your everyday life etc. These are just a few things I have read that you can do to be a good ally, Ivirlei Brookes in the video below goes into much more detail:
Here are some posts on allyship from @officialmillennialblack Instagram:
Black Lives Matter vs All Lives Matter
As the Black Lives Matter movement has drawn attention in the media, another argument you may have seen begin to circulate is the statement: ‘All Lives Matter’. This argument is selfish and insensitive to the years and years of suffering black people have faced and continue to face, as through saying ‘All Lives Matter’ it highlights how white people are unhappy about the fact that their race is not being centralised. However, it is clear that all lives don’t matter when black people are being innocently killed by the police, who are supposed to protect members of the public. The movement ‘Black Lives Matter’ is only trying to draw attention to the fact that black lives matter too since they have been discarded in the past. It is about creating equality in the world by prioritising black lives in the way that white people have always been, as Rachel Elizabeth Cargle says
‘Stating black lives matter doesn’t insinuate that other lives don’t’.
Below are some resources to further explain this:
Educational Things to Watch
When They See Us
This four-part series tells the heart-breaking story of ‘The Central Park Five’, who were a group of young boys of colour. They were arrested and coerced into confessing to the vicious attack of a woman in Central Park. Throughout the Netflix series, we see hows the police’s racism clouds their judgement in the investigation, as there weren’t any DNA matches, nor fingerprints or blood matches. To get these boys to ‘confess’ to the attack, the police manipulated them through interrogating them for hours on end without an adult present and through false promises of letting them go home the young boys gave in and lied, giving the inspectors what they wanted to hear, which costed five innocent boys to receive prison sentences from 5 to 15 years that impacted the rest of their lives.
Time: The Kalief Browder Story
This six-part documentary series found on Netflix recounts the story of Kalief Browder who was imprisoned for allegedly stealing a backpack. Browder was arrested and his bail was set at 3,000 dollars, which his family could not afford. He spent three years in Rikers Island jail awaiting trial, two of which were in solitary confinement and tragically committed suicide after his release.
Dark Girls
Dark Girls is a documentary film which focuses on colourism, a term which was first defined by Alice Walker as “prejudicial or preferential treatment of same-race people based solely on their colour”. The film contains interviews with African American women detailing the impact colourism has had on their lives lowering their self-esteem and leaving them feeling devalued and disregarded. It discusses how even people of the same racial group see being ‘dark’ as ‘disgusting’, which is highlighted through the opening of Dark Girls beings where a young African American women states: “I don’t like to be called black because I’m not black”. The film discusses how this idea is internalised from when we are young, as when a four-year-old black girl is asked to pick between the same girl where her skin has been lightened and darkened, she picks the girl with lighter skin when asked who is the prettiest and smartest; however, when asked who is the dumbest and ugliest she picks the girl with darker skin.
These are just examples of a few things I have watched; however, here are a few more on my list that I still need to see:
1. 13th- a documentary film about the incarceration of African Americans.
2. Fruitvale Station- a film which recounts the story of Oscar Grant, who was shot by San Francisco police on New Years Day.
3. Who Killed Malcolm X?- an investigation into the assassination of civil rights leader Malcom X.
4. Just Mercy- a film based on a true story about Bryan Stevenson who defends those wrongly condemned, his first case being Walter McMillian, who is wrongly sentenced to die for the murder of an 18-year-old.
Supporting people of colour
This can be as simple as following black activists and influencers on Instagram or supporting black businesses. Both of these acts help to amplify black voices and lead to more opportunities for people of colour. Purchasing clothes from a black owned business helps to close the racial wealth gap, which means wealth will be redistributed more equally to people of colour.
Black Owned Businesses:
Click on the name to check out their website.
Check out this link for more:
Black Influencers:
Click on the photo to look at their Instagram.
Donate and Sign Petitions
Many charities have been set up which you can donate to:
1. The Official George Floyd Memorial Fund- was set up to cover expenses from Mr Floyd’s funeral, mental and grief counselling, lodging and travelling to court proceedings as well as assisting the family as they continue to seek justice.
2. Justice for Breonna Taylor- set up to seek justice for Breonna Taylor
3. Black Lives Matter- a global organization whose mission is to eradicate white supremacy
Click on the link below to support more charities and fundraisers that are linked to the Black Lives Matter movement. This page also has a list of petitions you can sign.
Or if you can’t donate…
Many YouTubers are donating their Adsense made on videos to help, so all you have to do is watch the ads in their videos. Here are a few of my favourite YouTubers who are donating:
1. Sophia and Cinzia- donating to the Official George Floyd Memorial Fund https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F8eOW8XZ0mw
2. Lidia Baylis-Zullo- donating to the Bail Project fund
3. Meggan Grubb- donating all Adsense made on her videos posted in June to Black Lives Matter causes
These are just a few that I know of please comment below any other YouTubers who you know are doing the same..
I hope you found this post useful and I hope it offered some more resources and things you can do, as I said at the start, I am by no means perfect so if I said something wrong please let me know.
Great post Liv, beautifully and carefully written and thanks for the resources xx