the colored other

On March 15, 2012, Robert Zimmerman wrote a letter to the Orlando Sentinel attempting to clarify what he felt was an unfair media characterization of his son, George Zimmerman -who admitted to stalking and killing Trayvon Martin, a 17-year-old Black boy armed with Skittles and iced tea in Sanford, FL on February 26, 2012. Robert Zimmerman wrote, “The portrayal of George Zimmerman in the media, as well as the series of events that lead to the tragic shooting are false and extremely misleading….George is a Spanish speaking minority with many black family members and friends.”

Oddly enough, the first and most deliberate argument Robert Zimmerman makes on his son’s behalf is that a racial minority can neither be guilty of being racist (inherently or situationally) nor committing a racially-motivated crime. This, however, is a complete lie. White privilege does not denote that only “fully” white people can be the recipient of the increased social value and privilege that is inextricably linked with white identity. Someone only need be perceived as white to enjoy such privilege. For example, Christina Aguilera, Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi, Nicole Ritchie, Jennifer Beals, etc. all have access to some white privilege because of their perceived whiteness although they are bi/multi-racial.

Although Zimmerman is not white, it does not mean he has not ingested racist social conditioning that conveys Blacks as suspicious, criminal, and less socially valuable. Likewise, as my friend Jeshawna Wholley has stated on several occasions, the preposterous excuse that a person-of-color cannot be guilty of a hate crime against another person-of-color is “…both dangerous and ridiculous.”  

The “I’m not racist because I know Black people” argument is also completely absurd. Today’s post-Jim Crow racism does not operate in the segregationist, isolationist way that it once did. Many people who are inherently and/or situationally racist know (and like) people of different racial/ethnic groups. Racism cannot (and should not) be reduced to who you know because it (racism) speaks to a set of systemic, inherent, and manifest prejudices towards non-white people coupled with white people’s collective power. That said, racially-motivated injustice can be perpetrated against any non-white person by any other person (white or non-white).

The inherent nature of Black criminality (as referenced in everything from Birth of A Nation to Troy Davis) is a fictitious stereotype created by white people, and any other racial group can ingest that stereotype and enforce it accordingly.  In the case of Trayvon Martin, George Zimmerman perceived Trayvon to be suspicious because he was Black, male, and walking too slowly in an affluent community; his subsequent actions in following, confronting, and shooting Mr. Martin were manifestations of his acceptance and enforcement of the Criminal Black Man stereotype.

The problem with Robert Zimmerman’s shoddy, stupid defense of his son is that it lacks facts that George Zimmerman admitted himself (like he followed Trayvon Martin and defied the 911-operator’s order not to follow or approach Trayvon) and the critical thought necessary to understand that even if George wasn’t an active member of the KKK, his killing (and the subsequent police response to his killing) has “BLACK PEOPLE AIN’T SHIT” written all over it.

There is no excuse for Trayvon Martin’s murder; there is no excuse for George Zimmerman’s protection by police and legislation; and there is no excuse as to why Mr. Robert Zimmerman feels compelled to appeal the case of his son, a police assaulting, child-killing, “loose cannon”, to a public audience. We are not interested in excuses. We only want justice for Trayvon Martin, his family, and the millions of Black men and boys who are likely to end up like Trayvon if George Zimmerman is brought to the full measure of justice immediately. 

An Open Letter to Roland Martin

Dear Roland,

I am not a gay man, thus I have never had my manhood checked, demeaned, or questioned in spaces reserved for hyper-masculine bravado. I will never understand how it feels to be consistently otherized for not being a “real bruh”, as if masculinity is rigid and absolute, and anyone who deviates from your concept of masculinity somehow deserves to be forcibly expelled from the fraternity of manhood. This realization aside, I come to you as an ally of gay men, especially Black gay men who have had their own tumultuous past with heterosexism, homophobia, hyper-masculinity, and hatred, and I am tired of your shit.

Sit down, grab some tea, and let’s discuss a few things. First, there is no such thing as a “real bruh.” Neither manhood nor masculinity are defined by someone’s desire, or lack thereof, to buy David Beckham’s underwear from H&M, watch sports, and/or climb the top of Mt. Everest. This thinking, undoubtedly enforced and reinforced by some skewed ideology rooted in Black hyper-masculinity, is literally killing the very Black men you proclaim to care about. Men, especially young, Black men, are being murdered or taking their own lives because sentiments, like the ones you expressed on Twitter, have ostracized and expelled them from their own families and communities. The prevailing thought is that because they aren’t “real bruhs,” they are somehow less valuable than their peers, and aren’t worth saving. Consider, for example, Carl J. Walker-Hoover, an eleven year-old boy who committed suicide because of anti-gay bullying. His being construed as effeminate, or not a “real bruh” contributed to his demise, and he is not an isolated case. In What Becomes of the Brokenhearted, your late fraternity brother E. Lynn Harris spoke of how his experiences being otherized as a, “…Black, gay man who was living in a world that had a problem with both,” led him to attempt suicide. So, when Kenyon Farrow, Joey Gaskins, and others called you out on how your words were damaging and homophobic, they were spot-on.

This brings me to my next point, gay men, lesbians, transgender folk, or any other oppressed minority, are NEVER wrong when they point out your privilege and/or hurtful words. I’ll say it again; THEY ARE ALWAYS RIGHT.  As oppressed people, we dictate when what you’re saying is homophobic, transphobic, or generally problematic, you don’t. As a straight man, you do not get to define what homophobia looks like, sounds like, or feels like. Why? Because I said so. You have never and will never have to grapple with the harsh reality of negotiating your identity as a Black gay man, and that, in-and-of-itself, disqualifies any opinions you may have on delineating homophobic actions, statements, or stances. Capisce?

Finally (for now), you were wrong, and you should apologize. The defenses you concocted for at best, a poorly-executed joke were ridiculous. You insulted and offended an entire group of people, mainly the Black, gays, lesbians, bisexuals, and trans-folk who came after you with razor blades and lemon juice for insulting our community. You proposed violence against men who do not fit your concept of “real bruh-ness,” and you can claim hyperbole until you are blue-in-the-face, but the threat of violence remains all-too-real in Black gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender communities. There is always the fear of a hate crime waiting-to-happen when your sexual orientation or gender identity/expression falls outside of the confines of “acceptable” societal norms. Your statements have consequences that you will never understand; I don’t expect you to, but I hope this letter prompts you to do the right thing, apologize.  

I pray this letter finds you less defensive than you were yesterday. More importantly, I hope you understand that homophobic and transphobic verbiage, even in jest, will not fly, ever. As my momma likes to say, I hope we don’t have to have this conversation again.

Yours in the spirit of collective consciousness,

Samantha Master

Samantha Master is a student at Morgan State University, and the former Community Service and Outreach Coordinator for Rainbow Soul, Morgan’s queer student alliance. She is currently a writer for the Trans People of Color Coalition. 

There are certain times in life where people or circumstances inspire poetry. There’s a group of people who I have never met who have engaged me in conversations, bestowed upon me kernels of wisdom, acted as sounding boards, story boards, and idea charts. I just want to let you know that your words/times/ears/eyes are appreciated, and in a lot of ways, you enrich my life and knowledge base in more ways that I could’ve imagined. Thank you. 

I love you, 

Although I have not met you,

And I will never see your eyes light up

With the joy of seeing your student,

Indelibly drowned in recommended reading

Given out over Twitter timelines and Facebook status updates

making connections of the dots you have laid out, patiently and poignantly.

I will never raise my hand in your class,

and blurt out excitedly before being called upon

My thoughts on patriarchy’s influence

On crushing third-gendered communities.

On racism and hegemony

Anti-oppressionist theory,

And how to save the world, one cookie at a time.

But I love you.

I love you like

the student loves the teacher

Who does not insult her knowledge, but challenges her to think more critically.

I love you.

like the well-worn, yellow-edge pages of the books that I read

at least once yearly,

because I learn something new each time

I pick them up.

I live for you, through you

To reaffirm that knowledge is power

And the power harnessed through our collective knowledge

Experience

Passion

Willingness

to reach out to the lowliest among us and

each one teach one can

indeed

save the world.

I am equal parts Black, lesbian, cisgender, middle-class, Christian, fat, “American” and educated. Put all of those identities, a few ice cubes, and a handful of awesome in a blender and VOILÀ you’ve got me! As you can imagine, it gets tricky living with all of these intersectional identities and oppressions. On the one hand, I have cisgender, femme, middle class, “American”, Christian, educated privilege. On the other hand, I lack White, male, “pretty”, upper-class, heterosexual privilege. 

Because I believe that I cannot be freed from my oppression if I do not work to free others from theirs, I am a fierce advocate for social justice. I also count myself as an ally to many communities whose oppression(s) I do not share, such as: immigrant, Muslim, trans- and gender nonconforming, poor and imprisoned communities within the United States. 

So when @DefiantDame and @Shaananigans struck up a conversation on Twitter about a professed ally’s problematic and unlearned statements regarding communities they claim to advocate for, I really wanted to address the topic. 

Coalition building is necessary to advance any social justice agenda, and thus, allies are needed to ensure oppression and privilege are dismantled. What allies must realize however, is that our job is to LISTEN to the community we’re advocating for/with. Seriously, shut the fuck up and listen. If any people in the oppressed group feel misrepresented, offended, and/or uneasy about what you are espousing, even if there are other people in that same group who agree with you, and you do not address their feelings, apologize, and internalize their criticism, you are NOT doing your job as an ally. 

I am not a fan of reinventing the wheel (unless said wheel re-invention guarantees me an A in some obligatory but mundane class), so I have posted a paraphrased list of what it means to be an ally, courtesy of How To Be an Ally if You are a Person with Privilege by Frances E. Kendall, Ph.D.

1. Allies educate themselves on the personal and institutional experiences of the oppressed people they are advocating for/with. If the ally is not apart of that particular oppressed group, they must investigate their own privilege and its impact on their life.
2. Allies commit to be an ally 24/7/365. This may mean breaking the assumed allegiance(s) you have with people who share your privilege in rather uncomfortable ways. 
3. Allies help to create other allies, especially within communities in which they have privilege.
4. Allies shut up, listen and learn new ways to genuinely support the communities they advocate for/with from the communities they advocate for/with. 
5. Allies acknowledge their privilege and are thoughtful and intentional in deconstructing it. 
6. Allies fuck up, but they don’t use that as an excuse to stop being an ally. When they fuck up, they validate their criticism (even if they don’t understand it or agree), genuinely apologize for the offense, internalize the criticism, and are intentional to not make the same mistake again.
7. Allies are NOT patronizing. They aren’t looking for a kudos or a pat-on-the-back.
8. Allies understand that by being persons of privilege, they have the power to help facilitate (and sometimes initiate) change.
9. Allies are intentionally inclusive, which may mean being in the minority at the table. 
10. Allies do NOT attempt to be the ‘savior’ of any oppressed people. 
11. Allies understand that the system is rigged to keep oppressed people oppressed, and sometimes, they laugh at how desperate/absurd privileged people can be at propagating oppression.
12. Allies strive “…to become comfortable with the uncomfortable and uncomfortable with the too-comfortable.” And to act to eradicate the too-comfortable altogether.
13. Allies know that oppressed people’s experiences, even if they don’t see or understand them, are routinely invisible, invalidated, and ignored.

@DefiantDame @Shaananigans and I have concluded that ally is a self-identified term, but it must be affirmed by the oppressed group you are advocating for/with. Likewise, your status as an ally can (and should) be revoked/questioned/invalidated if you are espousing problematic, ignorant, and/or privileged diatribe. 

(Source: scn.org)