Black Stories Matter
By Maria Staack
Photographs by Victoria Hills
Since the murder of George Floyd on May 25th, my Instagram feed has been overflowing with calls to action in support of the black community, aimed mostly at non-black allies. I have seen both black and non-black people post about dozens of organizations and causes to donate to, locations for rallies, and documentaries to educate allies of the hundreds of years of black struggle. This wave of activism suggests an urgency for a change, but what sort of change?
There is no telling what the future holds, but if the government meets any of our demands—which include defunding the police, banning chokeholds, enforcing a policy which requires police officers to exhaust all options before shooting, and more—what happens after that? I can’t imagine a world in which my Instagram feed remains in its current state of 98% images of black people and messages of the revolution. Rather, I envision a return to normalcy; most black people and black-run organizations will continue to post images celebrating black culture and demanding justice as they did before and during the George Floyd protests, while I predict that many white people and white-run organizations will return to their regularly scheduled programming, hailing the great history and culture of themselves. Perhaps some white people will continue to donate to anti-racist causes, although I am certain the number of donations will go down. Even so, a donation does not mean someone understands the experience of a black person in America, nor does protesting, nor does watching a documentary or two on “the” black experience, considering there are many black experiences to be had. Now we are left with the question of how non-black people can be better allies.
I go to a predominantly white liberal arts college, where talk of “the system” bombards my entire educational experience. I have had countless discussions, in classes whose subject matters range from sociology, to philosophy, to art history, to film, and more, about how systematic oppression, such as racial profiling by law enforcement, fails non-white members of our society. All of these discussions have happened in classrooms where I was one of the few students of color present, if not the only student of color present. From these discussions I have learned that white people can talk all day about the systems that oppress people of color, but it by no means guarantees a legitimate understanding of our varying and expansive cultures and experiences. The second my white classmates leave the classroom, a majority of them cease to engage with any form of non-white experience. I see this in their all-white friend groups, in their social media posts about the music or TV shows or movies they like, even in how they decorate their living spaces. During a seminar discussion, someone may say racist systems have to change, but the same person might ask me if where I grew up in Harlem was safe. Yes, it is, and, yes, this has happened to me on multiple occasions. On these occasions, it became so clear to me that many white people know nothing of black culture and life because they make no real effort to.
As I see it, culture is just as important as politics. If we are to see real change, non-black people must invest time into actively seeking out black culture. Of course, sometimes black people make it so big they become a part of white culture. Take Beyoncé, or Basquiat, or Oprah, all of which are household names. The problem here becomes tokenization, which both commodifies a sliver of black experiences and leaves many other talented black names out of conversations among white people. This is where I see laziness on the part of a lot of white people. Instead of seeking out more black voices and stories, they are content to watch that one popular black movie or read that one popular black author without making an effort to venture deeper into black culture. When they only know one or two versions of black life, how can they truly understand why Black Lives Matter?
This my message to non-black people: when you start binging that next show, when you get obsessed with that new band, when you discover a cool new artist, when you watch a movie with your friends, do it with intention. You’re still allowed to like The Office, or Harry Styles, or whatever it is you’re into, but know that there’s a whole world of black voices out there which are just as interesting and beautiful. Black people have so many stories to tell, please listen to us.