Para La Gente #Black Lives Matter

By Michael Harriot on Twitter

A lot of white people were shocked to learn about the bombing of Tulsa from HBO’s “Watchmen” while most black people are familiar with the bombing of Black Wall Street.

Even historians mention these events as isolated incidents.

Racial terrorism is actually normal in American history but I believe we talk about in the wrong way. These are not isolated incidents, nor are they rare.

This is the story of how a national campaign by whites terrorists overthrew the US government 

A few weeks ago, Donald Trump tweeted that there would be a coup if he was ousted from the presidency and media outlets portrayed him as crazy. It is NOT crazy to think that a race war is possible.

It has happened FOUR TIMES in history. 

The first race war was the genocide of native Americans. The Civil War was the second. But I want to talk about the third one because it was actually an overthrow of the US government.

When we talk about racial injustice in America, we usually start with slavery and then go to the Jim Crow era. But we often forget that there was a period after the Civil War where white racists actually overthrew the government. This is not hyperbole.

First, we must remember that blacks were a LARGE part of Southern states right after the World War Wyipipo ((If they can call it “the War against Northern Aggression” then I can call it what I want).

Ala., Fla., Ga., & La. were more than 40% black. SC & MS were MAJORITY black

Because racial terrorists hadn’t taken black people’s right to vote SEVENTEEN black people served in Congress between 1870 and 1898.

Today, hundreds of Native Hawaiians and supporters gathered in front of the Hawaiʻi State Capitol to oli, dance, hold signs, and peacefully protest the construction on Mauna Kea. #Maunakea #moomeheu #kukiaimauna

White Feminism is toxic to people of color and queer folk. White women do not fight for the rights of black, latinx, middle eastern, asian, or other women unless it is good for THEIR reputation. 

Companies capitalize on the struggles of minority women for their own gain. Victoria secret promotes body positivity but only for skinny, able-bodied, cis, white women. White feminism alienates and targets minorities. White women and their pussy hats. The 80′s is over and white women with the exception of abortion, have a lot of the same rights men do.

However

People of color, women of color specifically, and trans women still do not have the same rights as white women do in relation to men. 

Transwomen of color are raped and murdered at higher rates than any other category of person in the United States. 

Black and Latinx women of color face violence and abuse in the workplaces and discrimination.

Minority women are incarcerated at higher rates than white women.

Minority women are assaulted and abused at higher rates. 

This does NOT discredit white women and their individual struggles and plights, as every story is different, but there are collective issues here at hand that white feminists refuse to address. 

White women who have come out in #MeToo, good for you and I am proud of you and I hope you find justice and peace, but this movement was not founded by a white woman, it was founded by a woman of color, and she for the most part has been DROWNED OUT by the masses of white feminists and pop culture media. 

Fight for women’s rights, but also fight for BLACK women’s rights, LATINX women’s rights, ASIAN women’s rights, INDIGENOUS women’s rights, TRANS women’s rights, GAY women’s rights, DISABLED women’s rights, MUSLIM women’s rights.

(No hate in the notes, do not call each other names or try to discredit one another for your individual stories, as white women do face discrimination as well, on a more individual level. Abortion and the pay gap are things collectively both face, but systemically, minority women are still more at a disadvantage.)

(Also as an AMAB white queer person, I want to draw attention to this issue and let minority women speak on this issue because they deserve to be heard, I am just an ally.)

Here are some accounts to follow that celebrate minority women:

@inspiringmuslimwomen @bi-trans-alliance @blackwomenworldhistory @indigenouswomenrising @disablebeauty @womenofcolorcoalition @latinxpositivity @profeminist @v1llians @a-real-feminist @fyblackwomenart

every holiday season, many christmas classics blast from our speakers at parties and if you are me, they are on full blast while i am cleaning and lip-syncing for my life. sadly, many holidays and performances continue to be buried in history. here are five christmas songs and performances that deserve to be celebrated today.

the weather girls got their start as the celebrated background singers of the late great disco queen, sylvester. in 1983, they scored a their own hit with “it’s raining men.” that same year, they released this underrated gem, “dear santa (bring me a man this christmas).

one day soon i am going to write a piece dedicated to the magic that is iris chacòn aka la bomba de puerto rico. this 1974 performance of “me voy a poner me botas”, from the complication album, “la salsa es de borinquen en la navidad”, cannot get anymore campy! and this is what makes it amazing! this whole esthetic is a fuckin’ mood! 

now this was a recenter discovery. as a teen, i hated freestyle music. but as an adult, and long after the genre was deemed “dead”, i became a freestyle fanatic. the cover girls were one of my favorite groups although this iteration of the group does not include original lead singer, angel cliviles. any who, this 1991 jam, “a new york christmas” is a bop.

kurtis blow was fine as hell! whew! this 1979 song, “christmas rapping”, was the first rap song released on a major level. it also help secure kurtis’ record deal with mercury records. while this song may not be familiar to many, the instrumental will ring a bell. r&b group, next, sampled this song for their 1997 number one pop single, “too close.” 

last but most definitely not least, is this ICONIC performance of “little drummer boy” by the legendary grace jones. featured on the 1988 “pee-wee’s playhouse christmas special”, grace jones gives us an entire outfit that your current faves can only dream of pulling off. 

i cannot overstate how revolutionary this performance was in 1988. grace jones, a dark skinned black woman, androgynous and queer as fuck performing on a kids christmas show during the reagan years! ICON! 

well, i wanted to create spotify playlist featuring these tunes and more but all but the weather girls are not available on streaming services. so feel free to play this thread of videos as you celebrate today.