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A while ago, I was writing a testimonial about why I deeply believe in the work being done at RaceBaitr.
Which turned into a really long essay(?), asking folks to let Black people in publishing lead and have ownership over their voices, their creativity, their vision.
Which turned into a really long essay(?), asking folks to let Black people in publishing lead and have ownership over their voices, their creativity, their vision.
I want to share it as a thread with the white folks that follow me.
(We’re talking about @RaceBaitr. It feels like Twitter’s algorithm deprioritizes threads that tag another account in the first tweet, so that’s why I saved it for the second.)
(We’re talking about @RaceBaitr. It feels like Twitter’s algorithm deprioritizes threads that tag another account in the first tweet, so that’s why I saved it for the second.)
These are just my personal reasons for why I believe this work is important, coming from my own perspective.
But if this is a tl;dr situation, hop over to their Patreon and just donate already: http://patreon.com/racebaitr
But if this is a tl;dr situation, hop over to their Patreon and just donate already: http://patreon.com/racebaitr
Unequivocally: I believe in Black voices, Black editors, Black platforms, Black leaders.
If you’re a white writer, you should too. If you’re a white editor, you should too. If you are a platform that is largely controlled by white leadership?
Check yourself. You should, too.
If you’re a white writer, you should too. If you’re a white editor, you should too. If you are a platform that is largely controlled by white leadership?
Check yourself. You should, too.
I’ve worked as an editor in varying capacities for almost a decade.
And as much as I advocate for getting Black writers in the door, I’m not under any illusions that this is enough.
That’s reform at BEST — that’s not revolutionary action.
And as much as I advocate for getting Black writers in the door, I’m not under any illusions that this is enough.
That’s reform at BEST — that’s not revolutionary action.
Trying the “add Black folks and stir” approach to publishing is not going to change an industry that is STILL filtering those voices through the white gaze by not presenting abundant (or any) opportunities for Black folks to advance to leadership positions.
Even verticals and platforms that are dedicated to Black perspectives and voices are largely dominated by that same gaze — if not by editors diminishing and diluting the content, it’s by leadership that asks Black writers to make themselves smaller and palatable.
And they almost always contractually require Black folks to have their intellectual and creative products be the legal property of another (often entirely white-led) corporate entity.
This is true of most freelance contracts. But I want you to situate that in historical context.
This is true of most freelance contracts. But I want you to situate that in historical context.
The historical context, meaning: Who claims ownership of Black labor. Who profits from Black labor. Who dictates the value of that labor, the ""marketability,"" the price tag.
And when we're talking about Black voices? That context is everything.
And when we're talking about Black voices? That context is everything.
This is the same gaze and same white supremacist system that greedily consumes Black pain but leaves no room for Black joy, Black dignity, Black rage, Black HUMANITY.
It is not enough to simply “”include”” Black creatives in the ranks of a system that was never FOR them.
It is not enough to simply “”include”” Black creatives in the ranks of a system that was never FOR them.
So when RaceBaitr says they are creating “freer Black futures,” this isn’t just a vision.
This is the practice. Because Black writers can speak the full truth without fear of the white gaze, of racist distortion, of penalty. Without signing away their rights just to be heard.
This is the practice. Because Black writers can speak the full truth without fear of the white gaze, of racist distortion, of penalty. Without signing away their rights just to be heard.
They can do this without giving away their intellectual and creative gifts, only to have some entity make a legal claim to it (i.e., the article belongs to the publisher) — all while excluding them from meaningful positions of power within those same companies.
I need white people to understand that part of Black liberation means the liberation of Black voices. And that’s not possible if we are not putting resources behind Black-led publishers.
I will say that again.
Liberation.
is not possible.
if Black people don't have autonomy
and full ownership
of their own voices.
Liberation.
is not possible.
if Black people don't have autonomy
and full ownership
of their own voices.
I have watched editors argue about what a Black writer should and shouldn’t be allowed to say about their own experience. I have watched platforms strong-arm Black writers into signing their rights away.
And these are just the platforms that believe Black people’s voices are needed *at all.*
And not just necessary when a Black person is murdered. A vital part of all conversations, an expertise and experience and community that has inherent, irreplaceable value.
And not just necessary when a Black person is murdered. A vital part of all conversations, an expertise and experience and community that has inherent, irreplaceable value.
The retraumatization of Black creatives working with these platforms is immense. Having to justify the way you articulate your own experience is painful. Having to reopen your own wounds because the only pitches approved require you to put your trauma on display is PAINFUL.
Being a Black creative in this industry is often a painful and isolating experience, and as a white editor, I know I can stand between my writers and these institutions to minimize that harm, but minimizing harm is *not enough.*
Truly reparative experiences are ONLY going to happen within community. Black editors working with Black writers. Black leaders supporting the growth and talents of Black creatives.
This is why platforms like RaceBaitr aren’t fucking “niche” — they're life-giving and ESSENTIAL.
This is why platforms like RaceBaitr aren’t fucking “niche” — they're life-giving and ESSENTIAL.
In an industry that has a long, twisted legacy of anti-Blackness — fearful of the full power of authentic, unapologetically Black voices but still eager to capitalize on them, with conditions — I cannot emphasize enough the importance of independent platforms like RaceBaitr.
This says nothing of the audiences who benefit immensely from access to these undiluted, authentic truths. And this says nothing of the transformative work that can happen in a collective reimagining of the future, beginning with speaking truth to power in the most literal sense.
And this says nothing of the historical importance of allowing Black people to rightfully own their own content, their own media, their own WORDS. This does not correct history, but it paves the way for a new paradigm to thrive in the future — so long as we show up to support it.
So I’m asking folks to donate to @RaceBaitr.
Not from a place of white guilt. Not from a place of “correcting” historical wrongs. Not because this is your good Juneteenth deed of the day.
I’m asking folks to donate because you believe in the future that RaceBaitr is creating.
Not from a place of white guilt. Not from a place of “correcting” historical wrongs. Not because this is your good Juneteenth deed of the day.
I’m asking folks to donate because you believe in the future that RaceBaitr is creating.
Because you understand that liberation is not just about whose voices are heard, but about AGENCY and AUTONOMY — about who is fiercely protecting those voices, about who is claiming ownership of those words, and about how those voices find their way to us as readers.
Patreon allows you to donate as little as a dollar a month. It’s been said many times before, but it adds up.
When we have sustainable, recurring donations like these, we create the kind of stable base of support that allows these platforms to continue well into the future.
When we have sustainable, recurring donations like these, we create the kind of stable base of support that allows these platforms to continue well into the future.
Please take a moment to become a @RaceBaitr patron.
If this is the future you believe in — and I hope like hell that if you follow me, you do, because you should — it’s time to show up and invest in it.
Today. Now. Always. http://patreon.com/racebaitr
If this is the future you believe in — and I hope like hell that if you follow me, you do, because you should — it’s time to show up and invest in it.
Today. Now. Always. http://patreon.com/racebaitr
