Umm … Were You Talking to Me??
Photo by Jennifer Enujiugha from Pexels
How many times have you been to a learning activity, event, environment, meeting, or workshop where the presenters spoke directly to you … And they were not Black folk who were talking? Could you think of any time or anywhere that has happened? Probably not and that’s a problem.
To understand racism, sexism, and poverty, you need to understand power dynamics. And in order to understand power dynamics, you need to listen to and believe the stories of the powerless. That would mean the giving up of the remote control. That would be listening to the people around you, instead of having your voice be the one that was centered.
White people, something that I want you to understand is that when Black folk attend conferences, workshops, etc. outside of those within our communities, there’s no one talking to us. You’re talking in general terms, but you’re talking through a white lens. I’m that person that asks the Black question at the end that makes you give the side eye. But the fact is that Black people have to take what you give, synthesize it for themselves, and spit it back out on the other side in a way that makes sense to them. That is power dynamic. That’s the power of a white supremacist lens that says that I now have to do extra work because it was inconvenient for you to do the research, take the time, and include those things in your presentation. You’re not sure what to say, so you say nothing. Then I sit in the room and wait for your last two minutes of cultural implication that were not even culturally relevant.
Black folk are still excelling, despite the fact that we are being ignored. And I’m asking the question what could we do otherwise, if we weren’t working so hard to take what you gave us and flip it on its head? What would we be able to add to that? A few years ago, I did a workshop called Snatching Edges and some of the comments that I received back were about how I was not talking to the white people in the room. Now I was glad there were other people in the room because I often say “You want to learn but you don’t want to come,” because that’s what tends to happen. My answer to the critique was “Ok well, everything’s not for you.” And the reality is that, it should be fine that something is not for you since everything else is.
The power of controlling the narrative is the same within this white supremacy, and being able to understand and talk about that is very important. We are in a position of power as teachers, as educators, and whoever else to control that narrative. And if we continue to teach the way we teach, or lead the way we lead, how will we ever, ever take our hands off the remote to see what somebody else wants to watch??
If you are ready to take your hands off of the remote and begin to make the changes necessary to shift the thought patterns within spaces in education and corporate America, let’s schedule a Call to Action. Also, check out my Keynote address at the 2017 National Sex Ed Conference White Unless Otherwise Specified: Color Blind Sexuality in a World of Living Color.
