Read on Twitter
Re the unjust firing of Timnit Gebru. Unsurprisingly, rather than consider the (high) likelihood of her being treated in a biased manner, Google supporters are saying, “Read the paper.” Sounds just like, “Let’s watch the whole video,” when an unarmed PoC is killed by police.
Timnit is a Black woman & leader in tech. But she doesn’t get the benefit of the doubt, of course. Per her (white) superiors, it’s all her fault; the manuscript was *supposedly* submitted late for review. Timnit *supposedly* resigned (even though she didn’t.) Business as usual.
People like the OPTICS of having a Black woman in leadership roles w/their organizations. They love how “woke” it makes them look; they love the access it grants their org & the heightened credibility they receive for bringing us on. It’s all a facade, though...
Because they don’t REALLY want us. They like the results we achieve. They like our creativity. They DO NOT like when we challenge them on their bull$h!+ or when we question things that aren’t right, or when we assert ourselves. Not one bit.
As soon as we do that, the honeymoon ends. They depict you as problematic & “threatening.” Your efforts to figuratively stand up for yourself are misconstrued to everyone around you. History (& the present) gets rewritten...
And in this inaccurate, whitewashed version of “alternative” truth, YOU’RE the issue. They TRIED to work with you, but supposedly you’re just so damn unreasonable. So now you get discarded like the Black trash they’ve probably secretly always perceived you as.
You’ve served your purpose...via your presence, you got them publicly up-close & personal to “Blackness”. Who needs to respect & treat you, an ACTUAL Black person, right when you can fancy yourself as the greatest ally ever? Black Lives Matter, right? Protect trans women, right?
People love Blackness - the cause. Blackness - the concept. They love Blackness as some nebulous idealistic idea. They DON’T love Black people - except those that “toe” the line.
As @lecrae tweeted the other day, “They want our rhythm, but they don’t want our blues.” That’s some of the realest stuff I ever heard. It’s sad, & it’s messed up. It’s also true.
And because you unknowingly endorsed organization X or Ally X, they’re “grandfathered in” to the “community” with or without you. Disclose what happened to you at your own peril...even your own “people” won’t believe you over Superwoke Black Ally/Org.
So you get f*€ked over...AGAIN. You empty out your soul & you are sucked dry & dismissed when you are no longer of any benefit. Black women, & Black people - we’re expendable, & apparently interchangeable because you’ll soon be replaced by another unsuspecting Black person.
And it’s not just White people doing this either - though they do it a HECK of a lot. It’s also other non-Black people stabbing you in the back...who are far more privileged than you though they thrive on drawing attention to their perceived/alleged marginalizations incessantly.
I feel deeply for Timnit. Because I can relate to her intentions to “make change from within” & “work within the system to radically reform it” out of love for our people. For the greater good. “Taking one for the team” now so others’ future can hopefully be greater later.
It’s very well-intentioned. It’s optimistic. It’s admirable.
And it doesn’t EFFING work. Maybe a small % of the time it works; the rest of the time it fails. Instead of dismantling the system, despite your sincere efforts, it’s YOU that get dismantled.
And it doesn’t EFFING work. Maybe a small % of the time it works; the rest of the time it fails. Instead of dismantling the system, despite your sincere efforts, it’s YOU that get dismantled.
I used to have so much hope. So much drive. I used to truly believe a better way was yet to come. I was so damn naive. Even now, part of me still wants to hope. Even though I SHOULD KNOW BETTER based upon what I’ve seen & been through. But hopism...it’s one helluva drug.
Sis Audre warned us that the master’s tools will never dismantle his house. Constantly putting oneself in harms’ way out of “hope” things will get better is the exact opposite of the self-care she also emphasized. It’s hard to quiet that inner Charles Xavier-but at times we must.
And...thank you for coming to my impromptu TEDx talk on hard lessons learned from a once die-hard believer in “coalition building” & all that kumbuya stuff. Take care, & know that YOU MATTER. Even when it doesn’t feel like it, you truly do. Regardless of what ANYONE thinks/says.
And I realize that this big spontaneous info dump won’t be RTd...because this is not the stuff people want to hear/read. Hard truths hurt. Maybe tomorrow I’ll be able to conjure up sentiments of optimism for y’all, but today I only have my scars, & I’m not going to hide them./End
