After calling the police and they arrive, almost as if on cue, this White woman, has an emotional breakdown, weaponizing her tears because White women are always allowed to be the victim.

Even when White women are clearly wrong for calling 911, like the incident with the Black women that had a police helicopter, 7 police, and the neighborhood locked down all because they did not wave at a neighbor, you would think the White female Airbnb owner would come to their defense. Right? Wrong.

Be it Starbucks, WaffleHouse, napping in a Yale common area, touring a college campus, moving into an apartment, leaving an Airbnb, and now barbecuing, there is one thing that is common in each of these incidents — White Women. White women have been the perpetrators of each of these frivolous calls to 911 that have the potential to get Black people killed. While I am sure, no one wants to have an encounter with the police, for Black people an encounter with the police can and has had deadly consequences. In my post-Dear White People, Please Mind Your Own Damn Business, I wrote how a call to 911 resulted in the death of 22-year-old John Crawford who was trying to buy a BB gun at Walmart. That is why it is of the utmost importance if you are calling the police on anyone but particularly Black people, it needs to be legitimate. I am not saying ignore a crime in progress or reasonable fear/threat to your life. However, calling the police because Black people make you uncomfortable is not a reason to contact 911. Always ask yourself, “If a White person was doing this would I be calling 911?” If the answer is no, mind your own business.

While it may seem these incidents are happening all of a sudden, be aware, that Black people have been monitored and policed in spaces for centuries. From slavery to Black codes, to Jim Crow, White people have always attempted to control how Black people can move throughout spaces. These incidents are not new. It is the same thing with police brutality. The violence is not new; it is just that technology has caught up with racism. What was once hidden, people are now able to film on a cell phone and share around the world in a matter of seconds.

White women have always been co-conspirators when it comes to upholding White supremacy. In a New York Times article entitled The Women Behind White Power by Elizabeth Gillespie McRae, McRae writes:
White women organized precinct gatherings to pressure their politicians to uphold Jim Crow laws. They transformed their homes into centers of bureaucratic efficiency — copying fliers, assigning neighborhoods for petition drives and scheduling protest shifts at elementary schools and bus garages. It was also women who shaped the way segregation, white supremacy and ideas about racial identity were knitted into the fabric of their communities. Working as midwives, teachers and social workers, women policed the racial identity of babies, students, and clients to ensure that the dividing line between white and black remained intact. And across the nation, women-led groups like Patriotic American Youth and the Women for Constitutional Government and Pro America spread the message to the next generation that opposition to racial equality was about states’ rights and limited government, not white supremacy.

White women have always been at the helm of White supremacy right beside their husbands, fathers, uncles, sons, and brothers.

In recent times, with the tragic death of Heather Heyer and the brutal assault of DeAndre Harris in Charlottesville, Virginia, we are shown images of White men committing these heinous acts of violence. But do not be deceived. For all the men you saw marching and spewing their hate, they have mothers, sisters, daughters, and aunts. When they go home after attending a rally, they do not go back to an empty house. Many of them go home to White women that are waiting with a hot meal on the table and a beer in a frosted mug to welcome them back from a grueling day of fighting Black people.

White women are equally as complicit in upholding White supremacy as White men. If the election of Trump and the election results of Alabama do not show you that, then you do not want to see.

For all the talks I have participated in since the election of Donald Trump, for all the workshops and panel discussions about “inclusion” and “intersectionality”, for all the poems I have written and performed, countless hours of researching, reading, and writing, here we still are. For everyone White woman that has followed my blog, sent me an email, came out to hear me speak, THIS PROBLEM IS AT YOUR FEET. These are not women in my sphere of influence. These women are in yours. These are your family members, your friends, your workout partners, your wine sipping buddies. These women are people that YOU know and who YOU are NOT impacting. Being an ally extends beyond reposting a tweet and preaching the same knowledge to the same people each month at your Racial Justice meeting. It is time for you to take what you have learned and share it. And let me be clear, this conversation happens before your friend picks up the phone to call 911. While I appreciate you calling out racism when you SEE IT, I need you speak about racism even when you don’t see it! Because racism is ALWAYS there lurking. It it your job to take some preemptive measures.

I saw a recent post on Twitter where a White woman invited several young Black boys, that were outside her house into her yard to play so that someone did not call the police on them According to her post, the boys went to her home and called their mom to pick them up. She said, shortly after that, the police arrived in her neighborhood stating they had gotten reports of a fight. I asked her, “And so now what?” She performed a nice gesture that impacts nothing. We don’t want nice gestures, we want justice.What happens when the Black boys are in the neighborhood again, and she is not there? The problem isn’t the boys; the problem is her neighbor. She can put up a million Black Lives Matter signs in her yard, go to every Racial Justice meeting held in the city, read every single blog written about racism and implicit bias but until she decides to talk with her neighbors, nothing will ever change.

So what can you do?
1. If you are calling 911 on Black people for existing, STOP IT!
2. Mind your business. Does this issue need you to get involved? If the answer is NO, STAY OUT OF IT!
3. If you enjoy this blog, please SHARE IT but don’t just share it online. Share the knowledge in person.
4. Invite your neighbor to lunch, to dinner, to drinks and casually mention these incidents. You don’t have to go full out social justice warrior on anyone, but there is a way to mention everyday news into a conversation.
5. KNOW YOUR NEIGHBORS!! Stop being afraid of the Black family on the block and get to know the Black family on the block. I can GUARANTEE you 9 times out of 10; they are JUST LIKE YOU. Don’t INTRUDE but if you see them walking in the neighborhood, speak to them. If you bake, perhaps bake an extra cake or some cookies and drop it off. DON’T BE NOSY! DON’T INTERROGATE THEM! Just say, “Hi, I’m your neighbor down the street, and I really want to get to know my neighbors, and I am trying to be more proactive about it.” Put it ON YOU, NOT THEM. Don’t say, “I noticed, YOU are new, and I don’t know YOU.” Make it about YOU and what YOU are trying to accomplish.
6. Do the #100HOTDOGCHALLENGE! I have not put this information out yet but for the month of June, I (see me putting it on me) want to encourage people to get out and KNOW THEIR NEIGHBORS! So since that is MY responsibility, I am doing the #100HotdogChallenge, and I am encouraging ANYONE in their neighborhood, to grill 100 hotdogs and give them away to their neighbors for FREE! Don’t discuss ANY tough topics at this time. Just give them the hotdog, say hi and keep the conversation light. This is a time just to GET TO KNOW THEM. Difficult conversations will come at ANOTHER time. Right now just be friendly, welcoming and be neighborly. Go into the challenge with an open heart and mind to get to know anyone that wants a hotdog.
5. GET INVOLVED IN YOUR COMMUNITY! Mention this calling 911 issue on Black people for frivolous issues at your next Neighborhood Association meeting and make this topic a priority! Talk to your neighbors about these incidents and educate them on why it is wrong.

In order for this to change, you have to be committed to changing it. You know the information, you have the information, now I challenge you to do something about it!

Additional Reading:
How Dumbed Down, Meek, And Quiet Do You Want Black Women To Be? Please read this to see how quickly a White woman played the victim and said I was threatening her children.

Video of barbecue incident.

At Meyzeek, the #NationalSchoolWalkout was led by the Justice League, a student group that is dedicated to promoting the principles of social, environmental and economic justice, and respect for everyone. They led the charge for students to join others across the nation, walking out of the classroom as a show of solidarity for the 17 victims and students of the school shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas in Parkland, Florida. Just a few weeks before the shooting in Parkland, Kentucky had a school shooting at Marshall County High School in Benton, Kentucky which claimed the lives of two students.

The Justice League worked for weeks to determine their response and reasons for wanting to participate in the National School Walkout stating:

1. We want to stand in support and solidarity with students at Stoneman Douglas and Marshall County High School.

2. We are standing up for peace and justice.

3. We understand that as students we can be affected by gun violence.

4. We would like Kentucky leadership — Mayor Fischer, Governor Bevin, JCPS Staff and Administration to understand our concerns and make sure that all Kentucky schools are a safe environment for students to thrive.

They sent a letter to JCPS Superintendent Dr. Martin Pollio requesting that students not be disciplined for participating in the walkout and met with Meyzeek administration to state their reasons for wanting to be a part of this event. The students were poised, well-spoken and clear on their intentions. As students, they want to feel safe in their schools.

We begin to cheer and clap, as the students prepared to share why they’ve had enough.

With a bullhorn in hand members of the Justice League stood on the bed of a truck parked on the field and spoke truth to power. “We are tired of turning on the TV and hearing, ‘School shooting. Multiple dead and injured. We are tired of seeing no action from the government other than tweets sending their regards. This ends now!” Sharvani Chittem exclaimed.

Arsh Tak-khan asked the crowd, “Who is going to be next?”

“When someone says a new school shooting has happened, it just becomes regular news. The weather forecast is regular news,” Kira Pongyaht stated.

“We are sick and tired of the violence. We are sick and tired of bullying. We are sick and tired of oppression. We are sick and tired of unsafe school. From Louisville, Kentucky to California, to Florida, we want to say that we, the students of Meyzeek, really care about the students across our country that have been gunned down!” Denim Moore said. Moore than encouraged the students to get more involved in their local government and learn about Senate Bill 103 filed by Senator Steve West and is also sponsored by Senator Stephen Meredith (R, District 5) and Senator Ralph Alvaro (R, District 28), that allows public school boards and private schools to add designated persons to carry firearms, possibly a teacher or staff member to be school marshals.

Their declarations were met with claps and cheers from the crowd as cars drove by honking their horns encouraging the students for standing up. As an advisor for the Justice League, I couldn’t have been prouder of the students. At the beginning of the school year, the Justice League started as a small club that sought to teach a young group of students about critical local and global social justice issues, like poverty, hunger, racial segregation, urban violence, environmental destruction, and other forms of inequality and injustice. Watching them put everything they learned into practice was remarkable. I watched young students become young leaders. I watched the future unfold before my eyes, and it was beautiful. That day we passed on the baton to young leaders that are determined to make this world a better place, one where all people can live a life of justice.

****

Meyzeek Middle School #NationalSchoolWalkout featured in USA Today

The Justice League is a collaboration between IDEAS xLab Project HEAL and Meyzeek Middle School. Supported by teachers Petia Edison, Christopher Rasheed and Meyzeek Middle School Teachers. IDEAS xLab Advisors are ShawnNika Queen, Chris Radtke, and Hannah Drake.

Passing the Baton To the Future was originally published in IDEASxLab on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Admittedly, I have said Trust Black Women a million times because as a Black woman, I believe we hold the solutions to so many problems in the world. However, over time the mood and meaning of this hashtag started to shift for me. Trust Black women is now becoming synonymous with allow Black women to do the work that White people do not want to do. Trust Black women is now becoming synonymous with allow Black women to do the work for little to no pay. Trust Black women is now becoming synonymous with allow Black women to generate creative work and allow White people to take the credit. Trust Black women is now becoming synonymous with allow Black women to clean up our mess. Let me be clear, Black people, particularly Black women, do not exist to save White America from itself. Black people, particularly Black women, were not placed on this earth to rescue White people from themselves. To save yourself, you must take a long hard look in the mirror and put in the work.

Our existence, brilliance, creativity, strength, and ingenuity can never be validated by you posting a hashtag that means nothing when your actions do not support what you project online. Trust Black Women means nothing if your policies and institutions do not seek to elevate Black women and help combat issues that impact Black women.

Liking a tweet and posting #TrustBlackWomen so that you can get likes means nothing if you go to the voting booth and vote for someone that said slavery was a time when America was great. Quite frankly I feel like many of you post things that highlight Black women not because you genuinely care about Black women but because it garners you a lot of attention and likes. Your extent of concern when it comes to Black women is how many people will retweet your post because it’s cool to be “down” with Black women online. However, the numbers don’t lie.

Black women have warned you time and time again. And still, you do not listen. We warned you about Trump. You didn’t listen. We warned you about the Governor race in Virginia. Still, you didn’t listen. We warned you about Roy Moore and once again, you didn’t listen.

Exit poll results in Alabama. (Results from the time this blog was written.)

At this point, I don’t know what else you want. I don’t want to receive one more email from a White woman that says, “Not me” or “Not All”. I don’t want to hear one more buzzword like intersectionality. I don’t care how many Audre Lorde quotes you can recite.

Black women have done our share of the work.
Black women have carried the load until our backs have bent in agony.
Black women have smiled when all we wanted to do was cry.
Black women are tired.

Black women will no longer play wet nurse to White America.

At some point, you have to get off the breast and grow up.

We cannot nurse you through racial discord. We cannot hold your hand through fighting racism because both our hands are too busy fighting to save our lives and family’s lives.

Throughout history, we have left breadcrumbs of our resistance. We have written the playbook on how to fight for liberation. From Oya to Vashti, to Harriet, to Fannie and beyond, we have drawn the blueprint.

It is time that you move from just hashtags to action. While I appreciate that you want to Trust Black Women, start learning how to trust yourself and do the work that will be required to shake a nation.

In November of 2015, I decided to quit my job of 16 years as an administrative assistant. I remember as I was exiting my officer after turning in my keys and leaving a manual for the new executive assistant, I turned and looked at the office and took a picture. I wasn’t sure where I would end up, but I decided that day to never remain hidden in a box again.

I was starting a new chapter in my life, and one of the first things I did was make a list of everything that I ever wanted for my life and as a spoken word artist. I have been performing for over two decades, and I feel that I have something that world needs to hear. One dream I had for years was to give a TED Talk. As stated on their website, TED is a nonprofit devoted to spreading ideas, usually in the form of short, powerful talks. I had listened to TED Talks over the years and was inspired, encouraged and motivated. I wanted to give those same feelings to someone else. This was my dream. So much so that I downloaded an app on my iPhone called Echo that allows you to type in your prayers and it will remind you on a day and time that you choose to pray for whatever you listed. I have Ted Talks on my prayer list for every day just before bedtime.

That is why when I saw the article “I was invited to give a TED talk — then asked to “cut Black Lives Matter” from it,” by the writer, Mwende “FreeQuency” Katwiwa, I was devastated. Mwende writes, “After finishing, I went backstage only to notice the curator of the conference walk up behind me. She informed me that there had “recently been 2–3 talks on the TED platform about ‘Black Lives Matter’”, and suggested that I “cut the ‘Black Lives Matter’ portion from my talk” to make it “just be about Reproductive Justice.” While in shock, Mwende states, “I spat out that I could not cut ‘Black Lives Matter’ from my talk, since the foundation of the talk was how the Movement for Black Lives and Reproductive Justice were inseparable for me.” Mwende went on to give her poem and talk in its entirety, but still, I was heartbroken. How could an organization that I dreamed of being a part of ask a Black woman to remove Black Lives Matter from her talk? The very essence of a Black person saying Black Lives Matter means we cannot just remove it because some feel it won’t play well with their audience. It would almost be as insane as asking me to remove my skin. Me being Black and saying Black Lives Matter is inescapably intertwined.

I went to bed that night and didn’t pray to give a TED Talks. Maybe it was time to dream another dream. The next morning as I drove to work I couldn’t shake Mwende’s article. How did I reconcile my dream with the reality of what she said? But then I was reminded of my poem Spaces that was recently selected in a nationwide call for artists by the National Academy of Medicine to appear in a permanent, online art exhibition about equity, and I paused. Spaces is a poem about standing in spaces that make you uncomfortable so that one day someone else that is marginalized can stand in those same spaces. And perhaps because of what you did, they will stand in their authority knowing they have right to be in those spaces and to speak boldly in those spaces.

I thought about all the times that I stood in spaces that made me uncomfortable. Spaces where people assumed I was a server and not a speaker. Spaces where I was the only Black person in the room. Spaces where I questioned if my braids were appropriate. Spaces where I reminded myself to code switch. Spaces where people had influence and power that could affect my very livelihood if I said the “wrong” thing. Spaces where I stood afraid, voice quivering, knees knocking, but still knew that I had an obligation to stand in those spaces for two reasons. One, for every Black person that came before me that stood in spaces where they felt uncomfortable. Black women like Fannie Lou Hamer who testified at a Congressional hearing during the Civil Rights struggle. Fannie Lou Hamer who was beaten within an inch of her life simply because she stood in spaces so that others could be liberated. Hamer once said, “I guess if I’d had any sense I’d’ve been a little scared, but what was the point of being scared? The only thing they could do to me was kill me, and it seemed like they’d been trying to do that a little bit at a time ever since I could remember.” So, I have vowed if women like Fannie Lou Hamer can stand in spite of all the obstacles in her way then I can stand behind a microphone even when I am afraid. Two, I stand for every Black person that will come after me. So, they know they have a right to be in these spaces and to speak their authentic truth in these spaces.

We don’t run. We don’t change the message to make the masses comfortable. Change dwells in the realm of the uncomfortable.

It is not easy bearing the task of standing in these spaces, but when you know whose shoulders you are standing on and who is climbing up your back to stand on your shoulders, you promise yourself that you will stand in these spaces even when you are afraid and uncomfortable.

Thank you, Mwende for being a spacemaker.

Mwende stood in that space to make it available for poets like me. Mwende stood in her truth and never wavered. Mwende stood in that space and spoke to truth to power.

Will I ever be invited to do a TED Talk? I don’t know and even after writing this I may have ruined that opportunity if it was ever possible. Who knows? I am okay dreaming another dream. My soul can rest just fine because of women like Mwende that reminded me always to stand and speak my truth. Unapologetically.

Caricature – car·i·ca·ture ˈkerikəCHər,ˈkerikəˌCHo͝or/ noun a picture, description, or imitation of a person or thing in which certain striking characteristics are exaggerated in order to create a comic or grotesque effect.

Several months ago, I remember I was standing at my closet looking for something to wear to a poetry event and my daughter came in my room and asked, “Why don’t you just wear a poetry outfit?” I turned to her intrigued by her question and asked, “What is a poetry outfit?” She said, “You know a Black people/Black struggle related shirt, Black earrings, ripped jeans and heels.”

I laughed as I scanned my mind over the latest poetry crowds and she was right. That is the “standard” look. That way of dressing is always suitable in a poetry setting. While us as poets speak of our right to be individuals and not conform, we had morphed into one another.

My daughter’s assessment of the “poetry outfit” made me reflect on the poetry I heard at a recent event. Most of the poems centered around Black Lives Matter. And they do! Black lives do matter! However, I remember feeling exhausted after hearing the 10th poet, with a Def Poetry Jam cadence tell me about the hardships of being Black. I left the event early because as a Black woman going through the reality of Black pain, I couldn’t bear to hear another verse about Black heartache. I recall a good friend of mine said to me once, “You write so many poems about the hardships of being Black. Do you ever celebrate what it means to be Black?”

Pause. Deep Pause.

My friend and my daughter, were right. I did not want to become a caricature of “Black angst poetry.” I write on a myriad of topics and didn’t want to be boxed in.

And that is what I thought as I watched, Spike Lee’s, She’s Gotta Have It on Netflix over the holiday weekend. Let me be clear, for the most part, I enjoyed the series and I will support the series, because I am rooting for everybody Black. However, it was difficult to watch the series and not see Issa from Insecure or Samantha from Dear White People. During the first episode, I had to continually remind myself that I was not watching Issa.

Hannah Drake on Twitter

This morning I'm trying to watch She's Gotta Have It and not see Insecure. Happy Holidays.

The series followed the relationship between Nola Darling and three men in her life. The original movie was released in 1986. While it does resemble the original in some ways, it has been updated for today’s time. Peppered in the series are the fingerprints of “Black Twitter.” Lines we have said. Lines we have typed. Lines we used as we laughed, “cut up”, and formed a family in the social media world. Lines we have LIVED. She’s Gotta Have It and Insecure were not just shows for us. This was the reality that we are living, breathing and often, surviving.

I wondered is this where TV is going? Is this how the stories of Black women are trending? Hollywood’s Guide To A Successful Black TV Show CheckList:

• Black woman
• Black woman that is mid/late millennial age range to appeal to younger and older women
• Black woman with natural hair
• Back woman that is socially conscious
• Black woman that wears faddish, social conscious t –shirts
• Black woman that wears trendy clothes
• Black woman that lives in an apartment that we all wonder how she can afford
• Black woman that is living in a neighborhood that is being gentrified
• Black woman that is an artist or works for a non-profit
• Black woman that knows all the Twitter and Instagram hashtags
• Black woman that knows the latest songs and dances
• Black woman that dances to and loves old school music/rap
• Black woman that refuses to be labeled
• Black woman that gets her freak on
• Black woman that is unapologetically Black

Just add HBO, Netflix and stir.

While I did watch She’s Gotta Have It, it showed me that Issa did something that has sparked an industry. She awoke an industry that for the most part overlooked the stories of Black women. However, now the industry is paying attention. They are paying attention, not because the industry is REALLY concerned about Black women or what Black women believe and support. I believe they desire Black women because it is profitable to curate a show around a Black woman now. Being Black and supporting Black is the “in thing.” I believe the industry will become saturated with depictions of Black women speaking about albeit serious issues, however because of the saturation they will become nothing more than noise and a caricature. Just add “woke Black woman” and stir.

Is the “woke Black woman” becoming a fad? Is the “woke Black woman” now a caricature? Is the “woke Black woman” now a fixture in Hollywood like the “sassy Black bestfriend” or “Mammy”?

My issue with fads is that they fade. Here today, gone tomorrow. If enough of the “woke Black woman” character saturates our TV screens does it water down the issues we are trying to address? Will it become a fad to have the Afro-centric woman on TV that wears trendy Black slogan shirts and speaks about topics that are trending in the Black community? Will that make the message of Black women that are in the trenches and not on TV, less heard and effective?

What is the solution to this so that Hollywood does not rewind time and cast every Black woman as the “woke Black Mammy?”

ALLOW BLACK WOMEN TO TELL OUR STORIES! Every Black woman is not a millennial, wearing Black conscious T-shirts, killer shoes, working as an artist or in a non-profit, sipping cosmos. Our stories existed before time was time! Tell the Black transgender story. Tell the Black lesbian story. Tell the Black single mother story. Tell the Black enslaved woman’s story. Tell the story of Black biracial women. Tell the Black divorcee story. Tell the Black Muslim story. Tell the Black asexual woman story trying to navigate in a sexual world. Tell the Black submissive story. Tell the Black Dominatrix story. Tell the Black grandmother story.

TELL OUR STORIES in ALL THEIR UGLINESS, BEAUTY, SEXINESS, DYSFUNCTION AND SPLENDOR! Black women are THREE HUNDRED AND SIXTY DEGREES OF NARRATIVE! And Black women live and write these stories EVERY SINGLE DAY! Step outside the norm and challenge your creators and writers to TRUST that WE KNOW what we want to SEE AND HEAR! BECAUSE WE LIVE IT AND WE WANT TO SEE US. ALL…OF…US!

In 2017, all of this seemed all too familiar with the deaths of Mike Brown, Sandra Bland, Alton Sterling and many others, still a fresh wound to Black people in America. Couple that with the recent uprising of hate crimes and racist outburst, it seemed like not much had changed and I would be putting myself in an environment that I didn’t know if I was mentally and emotionally equipped to handle. With all of these thoughts on my mind, I reluctantly accepted the offer to begin my work in Natchez. An offer that would impact my life more than I could have ever imagined.

I recall driving from Baton Rouge to Natchez; I noticed the highway changed from black asphalt to gray. The sign welcoming visitors to Mississippi greeted people from the side of the road, and I felt as if I was leaving behind all the city accouterments that I had become used to. Gone were huge billboards, signs inviting motorist to dine at a Cracker Barrel or McDonald’s. There was nothing in between Natchez and me but vast swaths of green, gorgeous full trees and the knowledge that I was not in Kansas anymore. When I told my mother, I would be driving from Baton Rouge to Natchez, she sighed. “Be careful, Hannah.” My mother grew up in Tennessee and Kentucky during a time when Black people could be and was lynched for looking at a White person the “wrong way, ” and those images were burned into her mind. Admittedly, I was afraid. However, the work I was determined to do in Natchez, outweighed my fear.

As drove the road was peppered with American flags waving in the wind and signs that invited motorists to tour various plantations. I started counting the signs of the plantations, and eventually, I lost count as I entered the downtown area of Natchez just adjacent to the Mighty Mississippi. The river was breathtaking, expansive, overwhelming, yet calming. The entire town seemed cloaked in peace, tranquility, and southern hospitality. Finally, for a moment, I felt like I could breathe and simply enjoy having the time to be an artist.

IDEAS xLab had established working partners in Natchez, and I was thrilled that I would be working with The National Coalition of 100 Black Women Girls’n Pearls, a group of African-American girls ranging in ages of 8–18. The young women were bright, respectful, kind and inquisitive. As I worked with them, I discovered that the racial unrest in America did not skip over Natchez, even as picturesque as the town was. The young women were well aware of what was going on in the nation, and I wanted them to know that they had the right to add their voices to the chorus that was screaming for justice.

I had an idea of the program I wanted to present, but before I dived in with my ideas, I wanted to understand the history of Natchez beyond what was presented online and in books. I knew to do that, I would have to visit Forks of the Road, Natchez’s former slave market, and a plantation home. When I stood at Forks of the Road, it took my breath away. I knew that I was standing on sacred ground, ground where Black men, women, and children had their very lives torn apart, ground where Black people were sold as property, ground where Black lives would never be the same. Before arriving in Natchez and reading about Forks of the Road, I was expecting a massive monument to document the pain, loss, and suffering of so many, however, the monument was several chains and shackles encased in the ground. I wanted more. I longed for more. I needed more. I needed that space to hold the gravity and significance of slavery in America. When I visited Longmore Plantation, I ran my hands along the bricks and cried. I wondered how many stories were in these homes? How many stories had never been told? How many stories were lurking in the cotton fields? Those are stories I wanted to know and that I wanted to tell through art.

With this knowledge, I started working on We’ll Rise Up, a collection of poetry, dance, and song that would reflect African history, history of Natchez, Civil Rights, Black Lives Matter Movement and hope for a better tomorrow. When we started our practices, the young women would start with a chant to accompany their stepping, a traditional dance done by African Americans that originated in Africa. The chant was, “Where did Natchez begin? Natchez begins in Africa.” One young woman stopped and raised her hand as she asked, “Ms. Hannah, did Natchez really begin in Africa?”

“Yes. Yes, it did. Your story didn’t start here but started in Africa. A land with gold, and diamonds. A land with trees that have stood for centuries. A land with various tribes and languages. With fruit that hangs from trees that you can pluck and eat, herbs and spices. A land with creativity, ingenuity, and beauty. Your story did not start with slavery, cotton fields, and plantation homes.” Her eyes lit up; her posture was more erect, her feet stepped harder as she took in this new information. My heart smiled, my soul rejoiced.

My time in Natchez was greater than I could have ever imagined. I needed to be there as much as they needed me there. Through art, we told history, we sang of hope and unity. We used poetry to speak about injustice and speak truth to power. But most importantly, the young women know that their origin is not slavery. Their origin is greatness and because they came from that greatness they can accomplish anything they desire. How marvelous it was for this group to embrace a new history, a new narrative, to write their own stories through song, dance, and poetry. I learned that is important for the artist not just to know the current atmosphere of the community but they most study, understand and immerse themselves in the history of the community because it has shaped the current environment. There is beauty in learning who you are and in writing and shaping your own narrative to lay a new foundation of hope. That is the beginning of healing, restoration, and change.

Thank you, Natchez, The National Coalition of 100 Black Women and Girls’n Pearls for allowing me to share in your history and embracing a new story.

(All other photos by Hannah Drake)

Telling A New Story was originally published in IDEASxLab on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Really, Rose? In your righteous fight against men that have sexually assaulted women in Hollywood, you went overboard by saying being called a woman is comparable to being called the N-word. To double down on your ignorance, instead of apologizing to every Black woman that you offended, you blame your now deleted comments on smoking weed. (Don’t worry, I have screenshots below.)

And THIS is my problem with White feminism and just how self-serving it is.

You see, we were rooting for you, Rose.

But still, I watched your comments on Twitter and never said a word because as much as I reveled in you and other women bringing down a seemingly lifelong sexual predator, I remember that it is some of these very same White women that didn’t have any problem putting a man that said, “Just grab em by the p*ssy”, into the highest office in the land. It is some of these very same White women standing with you, that never say a word when a Woman of Color is a victim. I have been in this world long enough to know that in your quest to bring awareness to your issue, you would say something against Black women. And without fail, you were right on cue.

Feminism and Black women aren’t that difficult to understand, but for some reason, it appears White feminists continue to make misstep after misstep when it comes to Women of Color and feminism.

I am going to explain this as plainly as I can from my narrative of being a Black woman and a woman that believes in the liberation of ALL women. Of course, this list is notexhaustive but these steps should serve as a good start to combat White Feminism.

1.This is Hannah. Hannah is a woman AND Hannah is also Black.

2.Being a woman and being Black are not two separate issues for Hannah.

3. Hannah fights for justice and believes in the liberation of ALL women!

4. Not just SOME women.

5. Because Feminism does NOT just include cisgender heterosexual, able-bodied, middle and upper class White women.

6.Feminism is NOT about silencing Women of Color.

7.Feminism is NOT about ignoring issues that affect Women of Color because you think they do not directly affect you.

8. Feminism is NOT about stealing the creativity and ingenuity of Women of Color and pawning it off as your own in order to capitalize on it.

9.Feminism is NOT about equating the issues White women face with being called a n*gger or other racial slurs.

10. Feminism is NOT about making excuses when you have said or done something that is problematic or offends Women of Color.

11. Feminism is NOT about valuing the legacy of White supremacy over the interests of all women.

12. Feminism is NOT about appropriating the struggles of Women of Color or exploiting a cause that is centered around Black people to champion your cause.

13. Feminism is NOT about restricting Women of Color from the table.

14.Feminism is NOT about allowing one woman of color at the table to perpetuate the illusion of inclusion.

15. Feminism means getting your hands dirty and it will not always feel comfortable or have a cute hashtag, hat or ribbon to go along with it.

16. Feminism means looking in the mirror and having some tough conversations with yourself, then your friends and family about the privilege White women have in this world.

17. Feminism means admitting that you have not stood up for Women of Color because you didn’t care or you didn’t have to because you didn’t see our issues as your issues and then making a conscious decision to do better.

18. Feminism is admitting that as a White woman you have benefitted from some of the very systems that have harmed Women of Color and you remained silent. You have been complicit either as as active or silent co-conspirator in some of the very systems and policies that have harmed Women of Color.

19. Feminism means remembering it is not all about you, taking your ego out of it and refraining from calling Women of Color hostile, abrasive, disruptive or intimidating when we challenge your silo style of feminism.

20. Feminism means holding the door open, passing the mic and using your privilege to advocate on behalf of Women of Color.

21. Feminism means LISTENING to Women of Color when we speak.

22.Feminism means challenging policies that negatively impact the lives of Women of Color.

23. Feminism means inviting ALL women to the table to share their voices, influence and power and not as an afterthought.

24. Feminism means if it is an issue for Women of Color it is an issue for ALL women!

This is White Feminism.

This is White Feminism on Intersectionality.

Any questions?

If so, please read…

1. Trust Black Women: Munroe and Jemele Told No Lies
2. Were We Not Enough?
3. If A Black Woman Yells Rape, Does Anyone Hear It?
4. White Women Are Always Allowed To Be The Victim