#16: Black History Month Special: Reading Morally Ambiguous Stories.

The Gargoyles

Black history month is great time for retrospective, introspective, and exploration. This week we decided to do that by reading real stories posted on Reddit that deal with topics that affect black communities. The stories allowed us to unpack certain issues with a heavier focus. One of these being the ignorant approach of the generalization of body features when referring to black people. We found inquiries such as: why is saying things like "I don't like black girls" or "all black people have big noses" problematic? Is there harm in POC giving themselves the license to saying these things because they are part of these communities? With human rights advocate Salim Chagüi, we discussed the importance of gaining cultural humility when having these conversations in order to acknowledge the racist and anti-black ideologies we tend to carry. Accountability behind closed doors was another subject we exchanged views on. When prejudice and/or discriminatory language is being spoken by our friends or family members, why is it important to speak up? Being the only person to confront these issues and the scrutiny to face after can be a scary feeling but healing and change won't come about without some friction. We also spotlighted some ongoing fundraising stories of black lives facing matters of mental health, queer identity in conservative spaces, and xenophobia that currently need more support.

GoFundMe Stories we read:
-Help a Black Lesbian Heal: https://bit.ly/3sa7ORe

-Immigration Fund for a Hard-Working Mother: https://bit.ly/3pI4Gdz

-Check out this Twitter thread to find more people who need our help: https://bit.ly/3bt2yBq

Our links - https://linktr.ee/gargoyles

Art logo by The Indigo Lauren - https://www.theindigolauren.com/

Speakers:

Salim Chagüi (IG: https://www.instagram.com/salim_chagui/)
Bianka Bencosme (Co-host)
Tomás Guerrero (Co-host)

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