Sometimes when writing non-Black characters I worry a bit about writing them too black or similar to myself, (a Black person.) Like, I imagine what kind of music they’d like and I think of Black artists and genres, dispite them not being Black, or them speaking like Black people (using AAVE or otherwise) because I’m Black and talk around black people.
Sometimes when I take notice of this I take care to write the characters differently so they aren’t just like me. Is this what white writers go through when trying to write Black characters and that’s why Black characters end up being miswritten often?
Tbh, white people DO listen to our music, despite what Tumblr would tell you. Me personally, I like to make mine listen to music my people make. I do it on purpose. We been doing that forever with everyone else's music 🤣 why can't the white ones like Meg? Why can't they listen to The Weeknd? What's wrong with OutKast on the playlist? You'll be broadening your Black music taste when you read MY shit!
Avoiding AAVE, sure. I get that. But tbh, I think you're putting more thought into this than the people who "miswrite" Black characters. Just by questioning it, you're halfway into the "with intent", part. You're already aware that your existence isn't the default. You're already aware that your normal isn't everyone else's normal, and you think to adjust to fix that.
I say that to say, I think putting it down to "well maybe it's just what they go through" is giving more grace than what's needed to solve this problem atp. It's not just happenstance. One or two people is happenstance. What we're facing is systemic; that Default mentality isn't just in writing, it's in Everything. It just happens to ALSO affect their writing. How easy it was, to consider that someone else might have a different experience than you? As obvious as it seems, it really isn't for white folk 😅 and why would it be, when the society you live in has always silently centered you?
