The word Black is not racist
A message for the trolls.
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Don’t feed the trolls. Most days, I don’t. But it wasn’t easy this week to ignore social media pests spewing their racist and negative garbage. It’s hard to know: Is it a troll, social media bot or everyday bigot?
Maybe the stories I published this week brought them out. I wrote about Mothers Against Violence’ annual victims walk, the Black-led Bank of Jabez set to open in Waterloo next year, the My City My Health conference about health equity happening in Des Moines on Nov. 11 and creating Black generational wealth through homeownership.
Maybe that was just too much Blackness for one week.
The stories centering Black Iowans coincided with a Facebook ad campaign. The ad features a photo me wearing a shirt stating: I ❤️ being Black, which has caused a steady refrain: Why is there a Black Iowa News? Why isn’t it just news? Black Iowa News is racist. Why Black?
When I named Black Iowa News in May of 2020, I didn’t know that some people would believe the word Black is synonymous with racist. I began Black Iowa News primarily to warn Black Iowans about the disproportionate toll of the coronavirus pandemic, but since then, I’ve expanded my coverage and have been encouraged by support from people of all hues, with their subscriptions, likes, shares and comments.
The trolls who are the loudest — while simultaneously being the most wrong — feign ignorance about why there’s a need for Black Iowa News. They see the word Black and argue the word, by itself, is racist. They tell me they want to wear shirts that say, “I love being white.” I tell them to go right ahead, and I hope they go #viral #youabouttoloseyojob.
I often want to go into the comment section and battle, but most of the time instead, I ignore them or delete, block and repeat. After more than two years, my ban list is larger than some pages’ follower counts. It’s the Black in the title.
Most humans know what it feels like to be excluded, ignored or devalued at some point in their lives. But trolls extend no empathy to a Black founder elevating the voices of Black Iowans.
This world has little empathy for Blackness.
Why can’t it just be news, not Black news, they whine, in an attempt to control the narrative. Or disinformation is advanced — like in Gov. Kim Reynolds’ new ad, with the clip of Missouri congresswoman Cori Bush placed just so — as an ostensible substitute for Reynolds’ opponent Deidre DeJear. The ad shows a Bush, a Black woman, speaking passionately: “And, defunding the police has to happen,” but seconds later, Reynolds states: “Watching the news, you wonder, has the rest of the world lost its mind?”
So Black women are crazy? It’s crazy to want an end to police brutality?
“Racism is disinformation. Racism has been a form of this since almost every single iteration of mass communications, especially public (ones),” Sydette Harry, a feminist researcher and blogger, told Mother Jones.
That applies to political ads that parade racist tropes — providing a feast to the trolls — and to the comment section hatemongers. I fed the trolls a meal this week, but as long as I’m Black in the morning, they’re not going anywhere.
Thank you for this exceptional piece. I am looking forward to following you.