The Revolution Pt. 1 - Back To Normal - a podcast by Jai//Em

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Full Show Notes:

Let me tell you something, Black people are in no hurry to get back to normal. We don’t carry a deep nostalgia for things or times.  There is only so much black people miss and reminiscence about. There is very little that we’re sentimental about or homesick for. For us back to normal is bullshit.

Back to normal is black people being targeted, killed, violated, wrongfully-imprisioned. Back to normal also means black people going back to being unseen, misunderstood, disrespected, dismissed, patronized, and under-estimated. And I am not just talking about black people that are harassed by police or racist people. I am saying that back to normal for ME on a regular day means going back to being unseen or misunderstood, disrespected, dismissed, patronized, or under-estimated in some way between leaving this apartment in the morning and coming back home at evening.

For black people back to normal is us being asked questions we aren’t being paid to answer about all sorts of things! Racism, our hair, our culture and our pop-culture. Back to normal is black people being asked questions we aren’t being paid to answer like, What should I do? What should we do next? How can we help? You know big, vague, philosophical questions. And guess what a lot of us answer those questions, and most of those times our advice is not taken. So, you ask...we answer...you don’t do it... and we don’t we get paid for it.

Back to normal is black people having to be: put together, nice, calculated, strategic, all-knowing, and friendly, and happy, quiet, magical, dope, chill, so cool… All so we can can stay safe! So that we can stay alive and out of prison. So that we can get jobs, keep jobs and get promoted. So we can take walks in Central Park, so we can jog, so we can ride the subway, so we can drive our cars, so we can eat, and sleep and read books.

A lot of y’all know me cuz this podcast is just getting off the ground so I want you picture something. Picture my mother holding me in her arms, I’m a newborn baby. And what she’s thinking about is what can I name my child so she can get a job later in life. THAT is back to normal for a lot, not all, but a lot of black people, naming their children in ways that please others and invite opportunities.

So why am I saying this? Because I want everyone (not just white people), to understand how important it is for us NOT to go back to normal.

Now what that future is….well, we don’t know because we aren’t there yet. But collectively as a community of humans on this planet we have to be OKAY with walking together forward into new territory. We have to be okay with being uncomfortable for longer than 5 days (and I say that to all of you that are not affected by racism but are already exhausted by the revolution). This is not going to be solved tomorrow.

I’ll tell you right now July 4th is going to be very awkward, to say the least. And if that is at all shocking news to you, What do you mean the 4th of July is going to be awkward? I urge you to talk to someone in your life (that is not black) but understands what I mean because under no circumstances should you be celebrating your freedom this Independence day. Now Juneteenth may well be the turn-up this year so you can get hype for that, but depending who you are you will have to stay in your lane on 6/19 as well. So ask all the questions before you start celebrating this summer. :)
 
What I am saying to you is, we don’t want things going back to normal. We want to embrace this moment and make it count. Opportunities like this don’t come around all the time. And you may think I am being morbid when I say this but something good can come out of Covid-19.  My mother would say, the Lord works in mysterious ways, but... Here we are, forced to stay in our homes and shelter in place. We’ve watched all the television. We’ve figured out how to work from home and all that.

And NOW we have time to deal with racism. That can be our story of 2020/2021.  If we want to be. Let me correct myself, if non-black people want it to be. Because I believe the only way this works is if black people outline the work and everyone else does that work.

What do I mean by that? The protests are a great example. A lot of people are calling for white people to do the work of putting themselves between police and black bodies. That is the work. Talking to your racist or uneducated family and friends is the work. I can’t call your white aunt and tell her she’s racist, but guess what, you can! Demanding change from politicians and leaders and/or electing new ones. The last time we voted for a President, black people weren’t the problem. Non-black people didn't do the work.

I hope meetings are already happening. I hope non-black people are having zoom calls to organize and see what they can accomplish if they program manage racism. If they get strategic with their funds. If they go through their contact lists to see how many degrees of Kevin Bacon they are away from an ally with deep pockets, or sway. And this shouldn’t sound crazy to you. Everyone listening has sat down and strategized how to get something important done, whether it's for their job and they are getting paid, or if it's personal so they can be hyper productive. I hope that you decide to be one of these people. I hope that you decide to be serious about helping black people. Something that goes way past instagram posting. Something that goes way past giving your money. The movement needs you money, don't get me wrong. Everyone should give and continue to give. Even 5 bucks. if you are listening you can give a little. But it's going to require more than that. 

And so many of us...we lie awake at night, 90% sure that nothing is going to change, that we will have to go back to normal, that cops will keep killing black people. That we will keep being afraid. That we will have to spend our lives with energy directed at all of this instead of being able to use that energy on ourselves and on our potential.

I am a person with a lot of potential and this is where my energy has been. I don't want to go back to normal. I don't want to spend my energy and time like this. I don't want to live like this. But what sucks is, it doesn't matter if I don't want to live like this. Because I alone can't change it. My freedom relies on a whole bunch of other people deciding if they have time to actually help. To actually make change. To read books about things they don't know very much about. To invest their money, not only when we die, but throughout the year/// in ways that uplift black people, black voices, black creatives, black business people, black law enforcement, black politicians.

It's a lot of work. Obviously. But we can make great strides in 2020 and 2021 if non-black people are willing.

I don't want to go back to normal. I hope you don't want to go back to normal. I am willing to help. A lot of black people are willing to help. But the burden we carry....that, you all that are not black. You gotta help us with that.

So I usually say, Don't forget to be creative this week, even if you just think about it. But this time I'm going say, Don't forget about black people this week....that is what I am going to say.

Twitter & Instagram: @Creative4evr
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