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Thanks to collector Mike Gruber.

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Black Panther Party - Black Power, 1960s

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grace jones - corporate cannibal

hurricane (2008)

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kalemba - willian santiago

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Solange x Jacolby Satterwhite for Garage Magazine (2019)

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Check Your Eyes

You ‘don’t see color’, that’s nice Becky but you know who do:

•The Police

•TSA Agents     

• Potentential Employers                                       

•Retail workers who stalk me around the store   

•The women of Sephora when they try to shade match me                               

•Hollywood                                                       

•Potential dating partners

See Becky while you rock back and forth muttering ‘I’m colorblind’, just know that doesn’t aid POC in the long run.

*to all my POC keep the list going! Add on instances where others seeing and or judging you based off the color of your skin was inevitable.* 

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Although well-intentioned, white liberalism too often breeds the type of performative allyship that is rooted in prioritizing white voices and the white person’s relationship to the issue. When white people explain how heartbroken they are, or how shocked/surprised/hurt/etc by racism, it appears very self-centered in that their feelings are being highlighted and prioritized in an innapropriate time. Per the quote above, solidarity does not exist amongst people who can’t maintain the desire to learn, unlearn, and amplify BLACK voices during conflict and struggle. It’s not occasional and it’s not an act. It’s a dedication to the understanding and prioritizing of black voices with the ultimate goal of effecting change with black leaders at the forefront. That’s what this quote means to me.

“Solidarity is not the same as support. To experience solidarity, we must have a community of interests, shared beliefs and goals around which to unite, to build Sisterhood. Support can be occasional. It can be given and just as easily withdrawn. Solidarity requires sustained, ongoing commitment.”

— Bell Hooks

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I’ve been dealing with a lot of banks lately, and spending a ton of time understanding credit. I’m in a fortunate place to have the already (fairly) sound understanding of debt/credit that I do. BUT that’s not true for most of us. And it’s very intentional.

I guess I felt compelled to post this bite-sized outline of the many ways the black community is disproportionately underserved — especially in terms of finances & banking. I also threw in a few tips that I use to keep my score high(er than it was). The biggest key — keep a low balance and use cards with rewards. (Who doesn’t love cash-back.)

Bottom line: credit bureaus are a result of capitalism. Many countries don’t even recognize credit scores at all, but in America it’s treated like one’s single most important identifying quality. It’s apart of a broader financial system that limits black dollars, by design.

So, like, yeah: we should learn how to improve our credit and teach our communities about credit.. but how about implementing a system that doesn’t coincide one’s value as a person to their ‘credit worthiness’ (by a racist systems standards)?

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America! Where we spend 12ish hrs being collectively thankful (& celebrating colonialism), and then a full month aggressively spending $, checking off our wish lists.👌🏽

This is nothing new, but we’ve certainly seen a heightened concern for shopping small, black, and ethical as of late. What does that really mean, though? Does it matter? Are we all guilty of unethical consumption, regardless?

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