TFW Someone Colonises Your Quote About Enslavement

Hello {{ first name | friends}},

I was doing what used to be called a vanity search or as I prefer to think of it, paying attention to my brand when I found it, buried a few pages deep in the search results. It was one of the quotes from Exploring Shadeism, but it was on someone else's piece of art, and being sold in their online store.

Truthfully, I was dumbfounded. For so many reasons. This person had not asked permission to use the quote, which comes from my copyrighted work. They had not asked permission to put it on art. They had not asked permission to sell it for money (more than $100!). They had not offered to share any profits. If I hadn't searched I would never have known.

The first thing I did was check the profile. I saw that they had more than 11,000 products, which suggests to me that I'm not the only one this has happened to. There was no way of contacting the seller. And sure, I could exert myself to get the product taken down - and may well get to that, but the truth is that they will put it up again somewhere else. I've been down that road many times before on other platforms.

What struck me forcibly was the irony of a quote about slavery (which I now usually refer to as enslavement) from a book about colourism and colonialism being taken and appropriated without so much as a by-your-leave. This happens all the time, especially to Black and Global Majority creators. Meanwhile, it sometimes feels like we have to BEG people to support the good work we do, which they are learning from.

I don't know and may never know who is behind this seller profile. But I do know that seeing my words appropriated without my permission made me feel angry, sad, defiled. On a much smaller scale, it's the same thing that has happened to many hidden figures (and I use the term deliberately) of history and culture - Black and Global Majority experts whose contribution has literally been whitewashed. I suppose I should be glad that they put my name on the quote - but still.

Black women educators, activists and changemakers are tired - and this is the latest example of why. Taking our intellectual property is lazy - yes, I said it - and criminal, because it is theft.

Just because I have published my quotes on my book's website, and on Goodreads, doesn't make them available for repurposing. Quote with attribution, yes - that's fair use. Use on your own art - no. That is stealing and it's wrong.

I don't even know what action to suggest here. As always, pay the people you are learning from as it is beyond outrageous to keep taking and never give. Always look for the original source of what you're sharing. And when you see others committing intellectual theft, call them to account.

Thanks for reading my perspective,

Sharon

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Sharon Hurley Hall is an anti-racism educator, author of the award-winning book I'm Tired of Racism, and founder of the SHHARE anti-racism community and Sharon's Anti-Racism Newsletter, which provides tools and lived experiences to fuel systemic change. She is also the creator of The Unsilenced™ Method, which helps women who have been silenced, sidelined or shut down get their work into the world in a way that is structured, sustainable, and unmistakably theirs. A seasoned professional writer and journalist, she leverages over 30 years of experience to mentor introverted leaders, and is co-founder and co-host of the Introvert Sisters Podcast.

© Sharon Hurley Hall, 2026. All Rights Reserved. This newsletter is published on beehiiv (affiliate link).