As a South East Asian woman I can honestly say that I do not know what it’s like to be a member of the black community. I have empathy for their struggles, I can relate some of their issues to my own (as is the case with Intersectional feminism), but to put it bluntly I have no right to talk about black issues.
With Black History Month drawing to a close, I feel like I would be doing a disservice if I tried to preach at you all about why #BlackLivesMatter. The first step to becoming an ally to any minority community is to ‘shut up and listen’. An ally’s job is not to take the spotlight, but to place that spotlight on the people who’s voices really matter. Most importantly an ally’s job is when we get called out, to take on the critique and educate ourselves when we get things wrong.
In the spirit of ally-ship today’s post is about highlighting the voices of the black community. I can’t tell their story, but they can. To make it even easier, here are a small snipped of links to articles and think pieces you can read, films, Youtube videos, and TV shows to watch, and albums and podcasts to listen to.
Read
- 20 Black women you should be following right now, Bitch Media
- Cam Newton and the Threat of the White Gaze Huffington Post
- White Women: This Is Why Your Critiques Of Beyoncé Are Racist, The Establishment
- It’s Black History Month, Look in the mirror, The New York Times
- The History the Slaveholders want us to forget, The New York Times
- History and legacies of resistance in Black women’s music, Bitch Media
- Coconut Oil: Dating whilst female & black, Gal-Dem
- Thread of articles about Black History Month, Media Diversified
- Black, British & Blogging: My experience, I Want You To Know
- Regarding the pain of Terrence Sterling, Jezebel
- Audre Lorde’s ABC’s of fighting Fascism, Bitch Media
Watch
- 13th (2016), Directed by Ava Duverney
- O.J.: Made in America (2016)
- What Happened, Miss Simone (2015)
- Girlhood (2014)
- Dear White People (2014)
- Hip-Hop Evolution, Netflix series
- Black Female President 2032, Akilah Hughes Akilah Hughes
- IDA B WELLS: The Princess of the Press, Kat Blaque
- #MyLifeMatters, Blackout for Human Rights Blackout for Human Rights
- UK Black History Month, Gal-Dem
- Diversity & Parliament: Why it’s important to celebrate Black History Month, UK Parliament
- An interview with the founders of Black Live Matter, TEDTalk TEDxTalks
Listen
- Podcasts:- I, The Angry Black Woman, Melanin Millennials // Madam Secretary, What’s Good? (with Hillary Clinton), Another Round // Obama’s Legacy: Did he remix race?, Code Switch
- Music:- Solange Knowles: A seat at the table // Alicia Keys: Here // Kendrick Lamar: To pimp a butterfly
And as I mentioned this is by no means an exhaustive list. Use this as step one for yourselves to seek out more. The more we understand about each other the easier it will be to empathize when issues arise.
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Leave more links to interesting articles you’ve read in the comments too! As I said on Twitter this week, our knowledge as allies is always a work in progress, so educate me!
Ria Xx
![](https://scontent-atl3-1.cdninstagram.com/v/t51.2885-15/e35/c0.58.1080.1080a/s150x150/102553196_179608096808939_284574406840022070_n.jpg?_nc_ht=scontent-atl3-1.cdninstagram.com&_nc_cat=111&_nc_ohc=QqdzZhJl8NUAX86BjA9&oh=5acc0d12931f2c2e49e2ce1fb1ba057e&oe=5F3833E3 "So it\'s Friday. How\'re we feeling folks?
Now that many have posted their black square, the blackout hashtags have been and gone, and platitudes and promises have been made that #BlackLivesMatter, I wanted to highlight the passage on the second slide, in which #AudreLorde wrote in 1980
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\\"...Black women and our children know the fabric of our lives is stitched with violence and with hatred, that there is no rest.\\"
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I highlight this passage in particular because it serves as a reminder that even though George Floyd\'s killers have been arrested and charged, WE are not done yet. There is no rest in dismantling white supremacy. It\'s tiring and exhausting, but it\'s absolutely necessary work.
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I wrote a blog post in 2017 called \'Welcome to the resistance: Are you sitting uncomfortably\' as a direct response to the Women\'s March.
I wrote it as a plea to keep sitting with the uncomfortable energy that comes with active allyship, anti-racist work and challenging white supremacy, not just for the march but for the long run. That endurance faltered quickly after the Women\'s March. Many of us fell complacent - myself included.
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We cannot allow that to happen again this time. Because that tiredness, exhaustion and fatigue is something Black and minority ethnic people live with everyday.
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The call to arms remains the same as it did back then. Whatever you do, don’t resolve to stand still on issues.
Embrace being comfortable with being uncomfortable.")
