Not Everyone is Welcome to All Safe Places

"Maybe this song isn't for us" a terrified Bobby Moynihan exclaims, "but everything usually is!" Cecily Strong replies. By now I'm sure that most of us have already seen Beyonce's new video and Super Bowl performance of Formation. After her performance the talks surrounding her song ranged from confused and uncomfortable, to empowered and recognized, and I think that these discussions are showing how incredibly important it is to have a space, a song, an anything that are for marginalized groups only. 

While I think that allies are a very important aspect in any organization and can really help share the load, I think that knowing when to take a back seat and not take part is extremely important as well. "Any group whether organized around a shared marginalized identity or not, will by-default be centered around the most powerful in that group"(Kyra). Because of this, white people are used to being in power and when they have to give up this power, then they feel that they are being left out, and not included. However, like we talked about in class, when diverse groups get together, it can often turn into an oppression olympics, and one problem often gets overshadowed by hundreds of other problems, which essentially makes sure that nothing gets done. Along with this power stance, the inclusion of white allies into non-white spaces upholds white supremacy. Because white people are so often in power, they get to choose what is appropriate in that space and what isn't, which essentially white washes the group and strips it of its diversity. Take the video for example, when the woman is yelling "we have to go, we have to leave America, Beyonce is black", to which the woman she's talking to responds "Amy, I'm black". Amy seems shocked and confused but when her friend points to a man wearing a flat billed hat and a large pendant necklace she responds "well I know he's black". This just goes to show how colorblindness hurts us, but also how the person in power (Amy) gets to choose what is appropriate (her friend dressed in a similar outfit to the rest of the crowd), and what is not (the man dressed in the flat billed hat and pendant). 

While most feminist spaces pride themselves on being "inclusive" and "diverse", there also needs to be spaces that can be for marginalized groups only to come together and discuss issues without feeling overshadowed. When starting this post I was trying to find a video that talked about safe spaces and instead found pages and pages of videos talking about how safe spaces are useless and completely pointless, mostly made by white men. So my question for you is do you think that safe spaces are important? And is it ok to exclude people from certain spaces? 

I want to start by saying this post is going to a million directions because so is my brain, here it goes:

Let’s see about the “American Dream.” Growing up, I’ve always been taught that by working hard, you can accomplish anything. Coates does a wonderful job of pointing out in “Between the world and me” that life is anything but an even playing field. (As did the Ferguson documentary we watched in class on Thursday). We need to squash the myth that is the American Dream, because it is the exception not the rule. (Yes that was a He’s Just Not That Into You reference). But the concept of it is prevalent. We listen to stories of people finding their soul mate at a bar, while all my friends have never met anyone worth mentioning. But we romanticize the idea that the possibility is out there, “if so-and-so met him, I could too.” Paralleling that, while there are, no doubt, people who started with nothing and made something out of it- this is a rarity. American politics have made it close to impossible to break out of the class that you are born into. Politics equals power and the powerful call the shots.

Segway to the amount of power police have in our nation…

“The truth is that the police reflect America in all of its will and fear, and whatever we might make of this country’s criminal justice policy, it cannot be said that it was imposed by a repressive minority” (Coates 77). After viewing the Ferguson documentary in class, I really started to wonder just how much power should be entrusted to the police. In class we discussed the discussion that many black parents engage their children in, to protect themselves from seemingly inevitable police brutality. My discussions with my parents went just ever-so-slightly different: “police are there to help you” … “if you are ever in an emergency find a police officer” … “if you are pulled over, use ‘yes mam’ or ‘yes sir’ and you will be fine.” I trusted my high school’s resource officer. Coates speaks for those that do not have this luxury. Instead when they are shot and killed for selling a carton of cigarettes, or for no reason whatsoever, they are met with criticism. Even I’ve fallen into the trap of “they should have regarded the officers with more respect, if they had only complied maybe the outcome would have been different.” I am ashamed of this type of thinking because it is almost as if it was programmed into me. I have been taught that by simply showing some respect, you will be able to maneuver a bad situation involving police- but this isn’t the case.

“’White America’ is a syndicate arrayed to protect its exclusive power to dominate and control our bodies. Sometimes this power is direct (lynching), and sometimes it is insidious (redlining). But however it appears, the power of domination and exclusion is central to the belief in being white, and without it, “white people” would cease to exist for want of reason” (Coates, 40). I found this to be extremely powerful. Especially after talking in class about how far back this oppression traces. One thing from the film in class that stuck out to me was the man who said he already knew the outcome of Michael Brown’s case. It reminded me of Emmett Till’s mother, who left the court before the verdict was read- because she knew what the outcome would be. There is no justice for blacks in America- there never really has been.

Leaders of the personal Agenda

This post is really late and i am sorry. looking into last weeks tour of the campus was something that needed to sink in. The concept of most of the stops I had already learned about many of these stops through my freshman composition class. Yet the detailed information that was defined was well liberating. The fact of not knowing of these on my tour and information sessions nothing of these sorts was talked of nor hinted at. Many campus's around the country and the south were built by slave labor which most people see as shocking, yet are cornered into the concept of geographical location by time period. this for many reasons can be seen as excusable. Yes time and place do play a factor as in politics do play a large role in the advancement of situations. The ideals of one who have the power can have an effect on the opinion of many. As we had discussed in lecture the concept of " the one who controls the present, controls the past" the explanation is that those who control the system now can manipulate the effects that past historical events play within the realm of the lives of those who play the role of new generations.  This is why I believe that the facts of these historical locations and events that took place have been in a sense "covered up". These notable events if expressed during such events as campus tours could take cause a mass decrease in the enrollment rate at the university.

By divulging the information of these historical hatred it may have put the future of enrollment rates, out of state enrollment, and eclectic mix that has graced this great university as a whole. Over my last 4 years attending The University of Alabama there have been many aspect that have put faith and morals in question, both personal and universal. Yet there has been progress in which has shaped every moment of my tenure at this great historic college. The institution of diversity has been well on its way to inclusion of all. "They always say time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself"- Andy Warhol. This quote my mother told me inspired the ideals that it is not the popular opinion of many does it take to change the world, but the outspoken thoughts and drive that one may have to take an the stance against that popular opinion and want to make a change that challenges the system of the present day leaders who "control the past". 

Culturally Defined..

"If slaves could fool white senses, what were masters to do? Some found answers in relying on noses better than theirs. Hound dogs that tracked slave runaways were extensions of the master's nose, enabling him to continue surveillance out of sight. Slaves thought dogs could smell "nigger blood" and so developed strategies to fool masters' sensory aids. Sensory evasion mostly involved fooling canine noises, using "remedies" so that "the hounds could not scent them, so they could not be trailed" even "within five feet." (How Race is Made, Chapter 2, pg.35)

The senses include seeing, hearing, smelling, touching, and tasting. When we talk and think about the senses we imagine delicious foods, sweet smells, soft fabrics, or noises that peak our interest. When I think of the senses nowhere in my thinking do I imagine having to rely on my sense of smell to live, I cannot imagine having to use my sense of sight to be aware of the way people’s mood change to make sure I stay out of harm’s way. The excerpt that I have above in so many words shows the impact that slavery had on these people. The culture of these people was so entrapped and laced with fear. Their culture was doing whatever they could to stay on master’s good side so that they could complete the tasks asked and expected of them.
 This week we continued the discussion of culture. We talked about what we thought culture was. I remember a student in our class stating that culture is fluid and ever-changing. the definition of culture that I found is "A culture is a way of life of a group of people--the behaviors, beliefs, values, and symbols that they accept, generally without thinking about them, and that are passed along by communication and imitation from one generation to the next." My culture is who i am and it defines me. Did slavery define the enslaved. Do you think that their harsh reality and culture shaped their personalities or the relationships witheach other? What do you believe your culture has specifically done to make you who you are today?

-Deayana