@venitamathias@blackmastodon
I woke up this morning in Melbourne Australia and read about this...
My heart sank.
I am so devastated, saddened, angry that this happens to the #Black community in USA all the time. So many gundeaths at the hands of white supremacists.
Im sending you my love
(bc "thoughts & prayers" aren't changing a thing.)
@cindyweinstein@blackmastodon I don't agree that using the word manifesto lends dignity to a murderers actions. It does make clear their racist/terroristic intentions.
@blackmastodon@cindyweinstein@venitamathias I think manifesto, as a term, is both accurate and overused by the media. It’s clear that a quick look at one’s social media reveals a clear intent to harm, and it is accurate in that respect, It creates a problematic and often false threshold of what constitutes racial hatred and violence.
By investing so much meaning in the term, it allows the media to perpetuate a myth that people who don’t write manifestos are somehow less racist and less violent. In this case, his manifesto became moot the moment he showed up armed at a black college. Would we have thought any different if he hadn’t written a single word?
@venitamathias@blackmastodon And before he went to the site,he was on the campus of Edward Waters University. An HBCU. He fled before security could get him. This is scary. It's a wake-up call for Black America.
@venitamathias@blackmastodon News 4 from Jacksonville posted this on their site (news4jax.com) after the press conference with the mayor and police chief ended.
@venitamathias@blackmastodon Just like Buffalo and Charleston. I'm old enough to remember seeing racists openly walk through Black and Latino neighborhoods,harassing and attacking people. My grandma told me about the Zoot Suit Riots in 1943,when white sailors and others attacked Blacks and Latinos in downtown LA and Boyle Heights. Police and media condoned it. Same shit is happening today. Encouraged by Trump and Fox.
@BlueintheSouth@venitamathias@blackmastodon When my mom's family moved to Los Angeles from Alabama during the Depression,Blacks were only allowed to live in Watts or Boyle Heights. Maybe West Adams if they had money. That didn't change till WWII and when the freeways got built. The unofficial color line is still South of the 10 freeway. If you have money,you live in Baldwin Hills,View Park,Windsor Hills or Ladera Heights.
@IveyJanette@BlueintheSouth@blackmastodon My dad's family GA to FL during Jim Crrow segrated to Overtown and Liberty City. Folks from Bahamas lived in Coconut Grove.
@venitamathias@BlueintheSouth@blackmastodon And folks that live in Baldwin Hills et al,thumb their nose at those of us who live "down the hill" aka east of Crenshaw. They only come into the hood to go to church or to see grandma and grandpa. They don't want to be associated with us. Classism and colorism. The ugly elephant in the room.
@fulanigirl@venitamathias@BlueintheSouth@blackmastodon Definitely in LA. Blacks with money and clout used to live in West Adams near USC(which was segregated),and on Bunker Hill before everything got demolished for the 101 and 110 freeway and the downtown skyscrapers. They migrated to Crenshaw,Leimert Park and Baldwin Hills during the 50's when the covenants were thrown out in court. Still like that today.
@IveyJanette@venitamathias@BlueintheSouth@blackmastodon
There's no question that our issues are multifaceted internally. So it's a lot...the external anti-blackness and the internal illness brought about by decades of anti-blackness. That's a lot of trauma happening. Culturally competent mental health services must be a part of reparations.
@fulanigirl@venitamathias@BlueintheSouth@blackmastodon And the caste and colorism run in families too. Definitely in my family. One of the reasons we were disowned by the Michigan side of the family was because my mom married white,Latino and Native men and her kids "didn't look Black enough" for those folks. That self-hate is ugly. And adds to the stress.
@IveyJanette@venitamathias@BlueintheSouth@blackmastodon It does. but we all can take part in breaking that cycle. Education of the issues of colorism and classism within our communities can help as can courageous dialogue with our own relatives. We don't have to allow destructive patterns established through white supremacy to continue to impact our lives. We can choose to do something different.
@fulanigirl@venitamathias@BlueintheSouth@blackmastodon My brother and I learned about colorism and classism as soon as we were born. We had different fathers,and have different skin tones and hair textures. A lot of Black families are like that. Unfortunately the elders prefer that we strive to white expectations,rather than our own. That's still the case today.
@fulanigirl@paninid@venitamathias@BlueintheSouth@blackmastodon You see it in the Latino/Hispanic community also. Lighter skinned or "white" vs those with African and/or indigenous features and darker skin. That's why there's been battles in Latin American and Central American countries,causing residents to try to migrate here.
@paninid@fulanigirl@venitamathias@BlueintheSouth@blackmastodon My godfather was a Black man from Panama. He couldn't live in certain areas because he was Black and didn't speak English well. I grew up with Black kids from Panama,Puerto Rico,Cuba and Nicaragua. They spoke English around us and Spanish at home. And they got bullied by both Black American and Chicano kids. Classism and colorism.
@paninid@IveyJanette@fulanigirl@venitamathias@BlueintheSouth@blackmastodon My late father was a kid in school in Franco’s 1950 fascist Spain. They still had a “5 races” theory in their venomous encyclopedia. And he even remembered a little mnemonic short song they had to learn to memorize this system :-/
@venitamathias@fulanigirl@BlueintheSouth@blackmastodon Yes. My mom tried to get me into a Jack and Jill chapter around 1964 so she could keep her showbiz contacts,and so that I could be around "different kids": I was reading before age 2. We were turned down because mom was a single mom; her skin tone wasn't light enough,though mine was(plus I had "good hair",she didn't); mom worked as a maid; and because we lived in South Central. Paper bag test for sure.
@venitamathias@fulanigirl@BlueintheSouth@blackmastodon Jack and Jill are still very much around. The Links Cotillion is still around also the debutante stuff. I passed on joining the Black Greek groups because of the skin and hair stuff and also because I knew someone like me who was a punk rocker wouldn't be their "type".
@venitamathias@IveyJanette@BlueintheSouth@blackmastodon While I agree that frats/sororities and Jack &Jill can have those problems, in some places in the country where folks are living in predominately white communities, the only other Black kids they can meet and know socially are in Jack & Jill. There's also a more progressive one but I can't remember its name. Black kids have to be able to see themselves as normative. Sometimes Jack & Jill serves that purpose.
@fulanigirl@venitamathias@BlueintheSouth@blackmastodon There's a Jack & Jill chapter here in Albuquerque. There's not a big Black population in NM,the majority of them live here. So it does serve a purpose for those who want to do that. Most of the time it's a trip out of state to Denver, Dallas or LA to be around other Black kids.
@IveyJanette@venitamathias@blackmastodon It's also a wake-up call for us if we have Black friends/family/colleagues/neighbours. Keep an eye out for your people, and use whatever privilege you have to protect them.
@IveyJanette@venitamathias@blackmastodon Is there no place on this earth where a Black person can lay their head in peace without fear of hatred and discrimination?
@IveyJanette@venitamathias@blackmastodon How could I forget? South Africans were running away to my country out of fear of the Black people whose land they stole.
@venitamathias@IveyJanette@blackmastodon This is why and how this society steals years of Black folks' lives. The constant stress eats away at one's health and well-being.
@Godfrey642@thepoliticalcat@IveyJanette@venitamathias@blackmastodon
There are places with fewer guns, but guns aren't the only things that kill Black people. And, it is patently clear that even among allies, when the choice is to protect one's privilege or stand up against anti-blackness...privilege wins out. To me, it's not a question of hope, it's being grounded in reality because our safety demands we be grounded in reality.
@fulanigirl@thepoliticalcat@IveyJanette@venitamathias@blackmastodon
Yes.
I often think the trauma of this every day, looking over your collective shoulders, trying to be a regular human being but constantly on the look out for the next onslaught must be horrific. I can never ever know. I wish i had wealth power influence to effect real sustained dialogue and change. I wish that those who do have power and influence spoke up more: i look at celebrities for example and wonder why they don't. Silence is complicit..
I loathe the cowardice, weakness and violence of RW supremacists.. but also of those who don't call it out, bc its "too difficult". Their feeling of discomfort is NOTHING compared to what anyone on the receiving end of racism experiences. My skin means i carry, still, the history and guilt of colonialism, so i have to be part of the solutions. It is what it is. I wish it was different for you. 💕
@IveyJanette@fulanigirl@thepoliticalcat@venitamathias@blackmastodon
Yep. I can imagine. I don't speak to my brother bc hes racist and toxic. Life's too short to waste on bigots - i tried talking to him about his racist views in the early days but you actually can't reason with racists. Or bigots in general. There's no logic.
They either see the light bc of a twist of fate that makes the injustice of hatred obvious, or they live in the blinkered twisted world of aggression.
I've come to believe that politics and institutionalised structures of racism are a choice made by ppl who are uncaring, lacking in empathy, compassion and love. Just the qualities that the devout and Faith-full should have, but often don't. Im not surprised that some of the worst bigots wear a badge of their Faith+Racism+Misogyny with honour. 😔
@Godfrey642@fulanigirl@thepoliticalcat@venitamathias@blackmastodon I ended a long term relationship with a guy because he was addicted to Fox News. Especially after Obama got elected. He suddenly started spewing conspiracy theories and birther crap. I dumped him after he made me turn off a Dodgers game to watch Hannity. And he dissed Vin Scully. In our house,dissing Vin was sacrilegious.
@Godfrey642@thepoliticalcat@IveyJanette@venitamathias@blackmastodon
Appreciate your words.You can feel for those who are suffering. I am not traumatized because I know who I'm dealing with all the time. I did not drink the Kool-Aid from the kumbaya 60's and 70's. I am very grounded in the battle with eyes wide open. Trauma occurs when you don't know why things are happening or that you can take charge. Many POCs are traumatized and our communities are traumatized, but I move with a shield.
@fulanigirl@Godfrey642@thepoliticalcat@venitamathias@blackmastodon I have a lot of PTSD from what I experienced growing up and afterwards. I've been in and out of therapy for years. At some point,the self-numbing and internalizing of trauma and pain will cause anger to explode. I don't want to end up in jail.
@IveyJanette@fulanigirl@thepoliticalcat@venitamathias@blackmastodon
Trauma is an interesting one. You can choose to leave it behind.
I think counselling is good up to a point like any "medicine". But you have to get stronger again and mend from that medicine, or you'll just descend into a pit.
I once read that trauma is an event or pain done to you, but if you re-live it and don't let it ğo, then the trauma is coming from you to yourself over and over again.
There's an element of truth in that for sure but in sthg like racism or war or abuse that's ongoing, its hard to let it go, unless you can fully remove yourself from it. In my case I emigrated. I was lucky it was a way out. Not everyone has that.
I have no idea what Id do if i was Black in a hostile community in USA with shooters wanting me dead.
@IveyJanette@fulanigirl@thepoliticalcat@venitamathias@blackmastodon
Trauma is an interesting one. You can sometimes choose to leave it behind.. if you're lucky.
I think counselling is good up to a point like any "medicine". But you have to get stronger again and mend from that medicine, or you'll just descend into a pit.
I once read that trauma is an event or pain done to you, but if you re-live it and don't let it ğo, then the trauma is coming from you to yourself over and over again.
There's an element of truth in that for sure but in sthg like racism or war or abuse that's ongoing, its hard to let it go, unless you can fully remove yourself from it. In my case I emigrated. I was lucky it was a way out. Not everyone has that.
I have no idea what Id do if i was Black in a hostile community in USA with shooters wanting me dead.
@Godfrey642@fulanigirl@thepoliticalcat@venitamathias@blackmastodon I've had anger issues my entire life. Therapy and support groups have helped. I wish there hadn't been the stupid beef between our family over trivial bullshit like colorism and choosing to live and work in certain places. Otherwise I would definitely consider a move north of the border and applying for dual citizenship.
@fulanigirl@thepoliticalcat@IveyJanette@venitamathias@blackmastodon
Brilliant fulanigirl. Brilliant.
Be bold strong loud and fierce always.
🫱🏾🫲🏻✨️🫱🏾🫲🏻✨️🫱🏾🫲🏻✨️🫱🏾🫲🏻
I will do the same here in Australia.
Ripples of strength meet around the world. Let's never give up.
@fulanigirl@thepoliticalcat@IveyJanette@venitamathias@blackmastodon
Brilliant fulanigirl. Brilliant.
Be bold strong loud and fierce always.
🫱🏾🫲🏻✨️🫱🏾🫲🏻✨️🫱🏾🫲🏻✨️🫱🏾🫲🏻
I will do the same here in Australia. With you. Ripples of strength meeting around the world. Let's never give up.
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