You're not invited to the cookout.
No, you’re not invited to the cookout.
For centuries, black people and people of color have had our bodies invaded, our religion and spirituality stripped from us, our lineage cut short, been ripped apart from our families, and so many other, violent, dehumanizing, acts forced upon us. Modern day accounts of systematic slavery (jails and prisons), systematic racism and so much more are still very much real, today. From our skin tones, to our hair, to our voices, to our words, to our cultures, we’ve always been and still are heavily scrutinized. The most recent example I can think of is NYS just passed a law saying that hair discrimination is illegal. It is 2019 YALL! Read article below for more info:
For centuries, we have recorded our pain, our strife, our journeys via pen, via cries, via blood, via lives, via video for quality and acceptance to no avail. White supremacy is still alive and thriving. Through it all, black people have thrived in our jobs, in our communities, in educational systems meant to lock us out, in entrepreneurship, etc. There has been a new wave of black millennials reclaiming our space, time, voices, energy, healing, spirituality and so much more. Aunty Maxine Waters had said one of the most integral things back in 2017 Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.
One of the ways in which we reclaim our time and take back our essence is to hold space for blacks only. Black only spaces are integral for our growth, success, and culture. We can talk among each other, safely, share our own unique experiences, fellowship, connect with each other and grow together without the hindrance or opinions of others who don’t have (historically and present), our best interest at heart. Many people may feel that this is a segregationist practice, however, historically, whites doing this unto us has been detrimental to our health, well being and livelihood while our response is an act of survival. When we’ve invited other people into our spaces, our interests are often left to the back burner, we’ve been taken advantage of, we’ve been hurt, we’ve been shamed for our way of life and killed. One such example is gentrification where whole cultures and generations are wiped out and people are forced to relocate. Consider present day Brooklyn and modern-day America. Black people are made to feel guilty about loving each other, first and fully. We are made to feel ashamed of spending our money among each other. We are demonized for wanting to have our own communities and be among those we love, cherish. Recent videos of us minding our business and being harassed by white people show the annoyances and dangers that we must go through when others are in our spaces or when we are simply minding our business. Some of these video taped occurrences below:
https://www.theroot.com/tag/white-people-calling-the-police-on-black-people
These actions have also often lead to our deaths. Often, when others are invited in our spaces, we don’t get the credit for our genius. One such example is Katherine Goble, a mathematician who worked for NASA. We recently saw her and her colleagues story told in the movie, Hidden Figures. Many of our achievements aren’t given credit and when we are acknowledged, it is often long after people have passed away.
There were times when we were denied the opportunity to marry each other so we had to jump the broom on our own. There were times when we couldn’t read so we had to sneak to learn. There were times when we couldn’t story tell so we had to tell our stories on patchwork quilts. There were times when we couldn’t practice our spirituality, so we had to sneak to light our own fires and sneak to worship. There were times we couldn’t bury our dead, so we had to have makeshift ceremonies to acknowledge our ancestors. There were times we couldn’t have our own communities because they were burned down and people were killed. So, if and when black people want to convene, we don’t need permission, approval, supervision or violence. It is time we reclaim our time, spaces, bodies, cultures, religion, spirituality, essence and being. So no, youre not invited to the cookout. Excuse us as we love one another, support one another, grow with one another, thrive together, and shine together. ✊🏾
