“Black People Aren't Trending”
Marley K’s powerful words resulted in this piece of writing
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Hello friends,
"Consistently when you look to see what’s trending on Medium, it’s not Black people."
The phrase popped out at me from a Marley K article. It reverberated through my brain for the whole day, and I had thoughts. Here they are:
“Black People Aren't Trending”
Black people trend when Black death happens.
When there's violence, when there's trauma, we trend, with the hashtags of death.
When we are shot while walking, jogging, sleeping, when we are killed while trying to breathe (8.46), we trend.
When a wrong is done to us that can't be explained away but somehow is, we trend... for a moment, not even a hot minute, but a hot, painful second.
But when it continues to matter, as our Black lives do, we don't trend.
We don't trend when algorithms hide us, and trolls deride us.
We don't trend when trying to explain the pain of centuries of oppression, depressing our hearts, our minds, our very souls, our inner being.
We don't trend when people touch our hair, forget our names, deny our expertise, underestimate our knowledge, question our lived experience as experts in the structures that dismantle us, even as we would dismantle them.
White supremacy, we're looking at you with a beady, jaundiced eye.
What will it take for Black people to trend?
Action, not just words.
Consistency not complacency.
Standing up not standing back.
Unpacking and acknowledging your white privilege then wielding it as a weapon to undo that which holds it up, till racism ends.
Till then, we will never, never trend.
Thank you for reading.
© Sharon Hurley Hall, 2021. All Rights Reserved.
Cover photo courtesy of Canva.
I am an anti-racism writer, a professional B2B writer and blogger, and co-host of The Introvert Sisters podcast. If you value my perspective, please consider upgrading to a paid subscription.
This is spot on! This is why we must be persistent in not only calling out racism but also in discussing the root causes. I checked Medium today and guess what? No Black people are trending. I am adamant about being seen, and they are going to hear me whether they want to or not lol. Keep calling them out Sis!
Powerful Sharon, raw and powerful.