Listen: A Few Stories From Black/African-American People
Now that we've talked through four levels of racism, white-person-to-white-person, it's time to pass the mic to some writers and speakers of color who've excavated and published stories of their painful personal experiences. These are condensed roundups of brief pieces, loosely organized (for better or for worse) by group. ICYMI: A Few Stories From (East-)Asian-American People.
Caveats, of course: 1. Obviously, the people linked to here don't Speak For Their Entire Race, but for themselves and their own experiences. This is just a taste. 2. Just listen (with your chest). Don't oh-it's-not-that-bad. Don't well-here's-how-I-would-handle-that. Don't it's-probably-just. Just listen. 3. We're guests to these pieces; we might not be their intended audiences. That's OK. 4. I'm keeping these lists as short and manageable as possible. If you love other sources, please send them my way!
All right, onward.
Readers' experiences with racism, submitted in response to Ta-Nehisi Coates's Between the World and Me (which, if you haven't read it? Do.):
Your Stories of Racism Part I (Atlantic)
Your Stories of Racism Part II (Atlantic)
* * *
The iconic image: Nurse Ieshia Evans in Baton Rouge, LA, protesting Alton Sterling's death at the hands of police. Source
"Happens All the Time": What I Do When I'm Stopped By Police (currently offline)
Katrina Otuonye, The Toast, April 2016. Follow Katrina Otuonye on Twitter (@katrinaotuonye) or read more of her writing at her blog.
* * *
On racism and activism around the election of Donald Trump and its aftermath:
Stop Telling Me To Fight
Da'Shawn Mosley, Sojourners, November 2016.
After March, A Letter to White Women—
ShiShi Rose, of the Women's March on Washington leadership committee, responds to white women's criticism of women of color who didn't march. January 2017. Follow ShiShi Rose's blog, or find her on Twitter (@ShiShi_Rose) or Instagram (@shishi.rose).
* * *
Not-Brief Extra 1 (because I get this question sometimes): Black internet writers/speakers/publications that I love, who sometimes write about racism but definitely not exclusively, and you should just head over and check them out and then begin reading/listening to them obsessively, but only if you like good things:
Luvvie Ajayi at AwesomelyLuvvie or Twitter (@luvvie) or her book, I'm Judging You: The Do-Better Manual.
VSB (VerySmartBrothas) and its cadre of writers, including ridiculously prolific founders Damon Young (who also writes for GQ) and Panama Jackson.
Buzzfeed's Another Round podcast with Heben Nigatu and Tracy Clayton, some of whose recent interviewees include (in no particular order) Remy Ma, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Jaime Camil JAIME CAMIIIIIIIL—oh, and Hillary Clinton.
* * *
Distinctly Not-Brief Extra 2: More Data, In Case You're Into That Sort of Thing*:
On Views of Race and Inequality, Blacks and Whites Are Worlds Apart
Pew Research Center's massive 2016 report: not stories, but a huge amount of quantitative information about differences between Black people's and white people's perceptions of racism.
* Looking at you, Bowen.