All over the internet, many platforms speak for us or represent us, but they are not within us. We gave away our voice. When someone speaks for you, they speak from experience. When someone speaks for you, they can relate to your perspective and understand your circumstances. Moreover, when you give away your voice to a platform that doesn’t recognize you, it’s in a sense selling yourself short. Not selling out but selling short.
Time and time again, I see black voices fighting for attention on the same platforms that have historically oppressed us. If you pull up their archives, they blatantly diminished our God-given qualities and made us feel inferior. They never showcased our joy; they only created pain.
And all for the sake of being inclusive, we forgot how powerful we really are.
What would social media be without black people? What would any of these online platforms be? We are the pioneers, innovators, and creative minds behind anything popular. Yet, we only control a small percentage of the pie.
In light of recent events, these same platforms want to claim solidarity. Now you want to stand with us? How can you stand with me if you’re standing on my neck?
It’s not my job to convince you that American society has a toxic history built on the sacrificial blood of black people. It isn’t my job to make you feel comfortable with these atrocities. It’s my job not to let you kill my joy, my creativity, and most importantly, my soul.
It makes my stomach turn to see beautiful black writers speaking from their souls to an audience that uses that same pain as entertainment. We should be able to share our experiences in a safe space with like minds. Unfortunately, my search for this has been elusive.
In conclusion, I can admit that I’m not perfect. I may even be a little jaded. I can honestly confess that I gave away my voice too, but now it’s time to take it back. I dare you to do the same.