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