I know that Black music is super “interesting” (to say the least), but I am very curious about the politics of (non-Black) folks whose work focuses exclusively on Black music without interrogating whiteness or anti-blackness from their own cultural vantage point.

This tweet means exactly what it says. No, I’m not suggesting that any non-Black person shouldn’t study Black music, but if you’re white, in particular, and not somehow also studying/unpacking (your own) whiteness/subjecthood in that process, I have questions.

And then there’s the question of power — if you are not Black and your work is exclusively on Black music/subjects, and you have gained power/jobs/etc doing so, I hope you acknowledge that and find ways to redistribute that power and privilege. Otherwise, it’s exploitation.

I come back to this every so often because — it’s important and also common and becoming even more common as DEI and Blackness are more “in vogue” as sources to be mined by scholars and writers.