YOUR LIFE IS NOT A DRILL

Gwendolyn D. Clemons, Editor-in-Chief

The older I get the more it becomes apparent that Black people have a problem with accepting their own ancestral origins and cultural traditions. One can defensively say this is not fully our fault because we have been inundated by a system called White Supremacy. In the words of Dr. Davin D. Clemons, “White folks have done a number on us!”

I want to share a recent experience I had on the social media site LinkedIn, where I was attacked by an HR Manager who works for Accenture at the University of Michigan campus, and who along with five other white men took apparent pleasure in actively trolling LinkedIn attacking black women. Fearing for the countless minorities that were unknowingly being victimized by the racist micro-aggressions of these men, of course I screenshot our exchange and reported him. But to me, this horrific exchange only begged the question: Who knows how much damage this racist has done to others through his professional position in HR?

That encounter was only one extreme example of white privilege and white fragility. I was being attacked, called out of my name, mocked, and bullied by five grown so-called “professional” white men on a so-called “prestigious” social media site. Yet I also understood that the white men attacking me were trying to preserve an anachronistic culture of power and control over minorities.

Nelson Mandela once said, “Our world is not divided by race, color, gender, or religion. Our world is divided into wise people and fools. And fools divide themselves by race, color, gender, or religion.” There is plenty to unpack from this quote, but the biggest takeaway for me is how ultra-important it is to learn to discern when you are, in fact, encountering fools. That day and its horrific encounter reinforced an essential lesson: “My life is not a drill.” That day, defending a Black Lives Matters post proved how important it is to know my history as a Black woman -- and how equally important it is to defend it.

The Community Issue is dedicated to all of you searching for a media space where “wise people” can educate, affirm, and surround themselves with like-minded folks. If you appreciate our work and recognize how TUV Media has helped move this culture forward by being bold, visible, queer, and Black and proud then support us by sharing our content with family and friends. This year has shown those of us fighting for equality, diversity, inclusion, rights, access to health care, prochoice, defund the police, and all the “Arrest the Cops Who Killed Breonna Taylor” supporters that it’s going to take a village in order to merge our collective powers for every long overdue win that we’ve got coming.