"No one believes us when we say, "ouch."

Hey Troublemakers,

How was your weekend? I got to spend mine at the SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL (pinch me). I was there to participate in a few discussions around representation and storytelling and it was inspiring and exhausting (your girl is an introvert after all). My mind was spinning with ideas the whole flight home.

This morning I came upon these words that felt like a punch to the gut: “Black women really have to start whole companies and launch movements because no one believes us when we say, “ouch.” - Ashley Simpo

No one believes us when we say ouch. Ouch. That hurts because its true. That hurts because sometimes (especially as a kid) I don’t even say ouch, knowing all too well that my cries will be ignored or dismissed or argued. I wasn’t just in Sundance to moderate - I was there to tell people about my company - HERSELF Media. A company I founded because in addition to Black women’s ouches not being believed, it’s sometime even harder to get people to believe our humanity, our individuality, our goofiness and our playfulness.

I need to see stories that show this complexity. And I need them to be believed.

A FEW LINKS FOR LEARNING + DOING…

READ this whole thread. “We need more people to understand that the lack of gun control in America is inextricably linked to white supremacy and racism, specifically anti-Blackness. The obsession with guns is not in the tool in and of itself but because of what guns symbolize.”

GIVE to the GoFundMe for the victims of the Monterey Park shooting.

CHEER ON the quirky Black girls (Alexis Nikole is one of my favorites) and here she is hanging with Jimmy Kimmel!

PREORDER my book through Barnes + Noble today - Friday for 25% off! Use the code PREORDER25 at checkout! Thank you 💜

MARK YOUR CALENDARS for monthly Troublemaker Meetings the 3rd Thursday of every month at 8:30pm EST (exclusively for Patreon folks starting at the $5/month level - not a Patreon supporter, lets fix that!). See you February 16th!

WORDS OF WISDOM

“The function of art is to do more than tell it like it is-it’s to imagine what is possible.”
― bell hooks

Stay wild and holy and free,

Austin