(In)Visible Black Girl

I see you!!

A few days ago I came across this video of a two little girls - one black, one white - left by themselves in a crowded location. We watch as person after person stops to check in with the white girl. We watch as person after person ignores the black girl.

The whole time I’m watching, two thoughts are running through my head: 1. I wonder if/how they explained this to these girls and 2. They made a 30 second video about my life and my life’s work.

For those of you who have been following me for awhile, you know that I used to occupy mostly white spaces. Because of this I believed that the work of racial justice e was all about converting white people. I thought my work was about making sure white oriole could hear me, connect with me and then begin to care about racial justice. But I found framework to be an incredible burden on myself and most of the people of color who landed in my workshops.

But then. I had an encounter with a white teenager that changed everything. We were in a workshop I was facilitating and he had a question he was scared to ask. I reassured him and he replied, “Austin, is it bad that I’m glad I’m white? Because I don’t think I could endure what people of color experience. I don’t think I’m that strong.” I was so proud of him because it was clear that he believed us and our experience of America. But my second thought was, “I love being black!” I had never realized that my focus on changing white people also meant that they only heard what’s hard about being a Black person. Something shifted in me after that. I vowed that I would never again give a lecture about racial justice and only share the hard things. This was the first step on my journey to centering poc- particularly Black women- instead of all the white people on my audience. It has become vital in my work that Black women feel SEEN.

I want to prioritize black women. I am convinced that everyone had a better experience when I do. I want us to all be seen. And I’m starting with the black girls.

A FEW THINGS FOR YOU THIS WEEK…

Friends, I just came off what I was referring to as a week’s vacation but since I spent 5 out of 7 days on my couch sick, I’m just calling it days where I didn’t have any meetings or look at my email. On day 6, I had some new thoughts about what I’m doing with my career (based off some news that’s almost to the announce-able stage) and how I’m using the internet - specifically my substack and patreon. No plans for anything majorly different, but my plans will help you understand the best place for you to be (if you want to choose - know you are welcome in both spaces!) More to say on that next week!

This post got so many good responses - would love to hear from you too!

austinchanning

A post shared by Austin Channing Brown (@austinchanning)

Tell me - how was your home life similar/not to your world at school?

A WORD

“I will not have my life narrowed down. I will not bow down to somebody else's whim or to someone else's ignorance.”
― bell hooks

Stay wild and holy and free,

Austin

PS If you haven’t ordered I’m Still Here (Young Readers Version) - get your copy today!!

BOOKSHOP | AMAZON | AUDIBLE | TARGET | BARNES & NOBLE