CULTURE

Want to Be a Better Anti-Racist Feminist? Listen to Monique Melton

by Susie Waltz posted on June 9, 2020
Instagram

Monique Melton is an anti-racism educator, writer, and podcast host who pushes people to become accomplices, not just allies, in the fight for racial equality. 

After the death of George Floyd and subsequent protests around the world, many individuals have been looking for guidance on how to become an anti-racist ally. But, as Black leaders and activists have been teaching for years, being an ally is not enough.

Monique Melton is among the many anti-racist educators who teach people to become more effective in the fight for racial justice. Her work and wisdom come in many forms: her Shine Brighter Together podcast,  her Shine Box Anti-Racism 101 course, and her Instagram posts.

In her posts, Melton calls for white womxn specifically to reevaluate their anti-racist efforts. She urges white womxn to stay in their lane, do the work, and not take credit for the movements Black people have been leading for centuries. 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

I’ve been taking some time away from the gram today but I wanted to hop on to address something I see that is beyond problematic. White womxn, who have never taken the time or energy to amplify the work of Black womxn are now trying to lead anti-racism work. When y’all see it say something. Tell them to stop & to follow Black womxn. If they can’t tolerate that correction, that’s only more evidence that they have no business leading work that they’re not even doing within themselves. White womxn are just NOW deciding to acknowledge the problems of white supremacy & NOW since they see it as a problem, then it must be one. Tuh! Black womxn have been talking about these problems for 100s of years & now that you say it’s a problem it must be one. There’s whiteness doing what whiteness does—nothing is true or valid unless affirmed by whiteness. Knock it off! White womxn are acting like now that they want to talk about racism (so long as they can center their whiteness and lead the conversation through the lens of whiteness) that they should be the ones doing the talking &leading. It’s not that White supremacy hasn’t been dismantled Bc white womxn haven’t led the way, but because you’re in the way. And Bc you’re not doing the work! We’ve been out here. Y’all late…400 years late. Everything you think you need to say has already been said…you’re simply regurgitating our work and it’s absolutely problematic. All of this is reinforcing white supremacy and causing more harm. We don’t need you to lead this work—we’ve got that! We need you to do this work. That’s you’re lane—stay in that. And because you’re too busy trying to take charge of something that you know close to nothing about (which is why you need to listen and follow Black womxn), and you’re trying to speak over Black womxn, you can’t even recognize how you’re doing the very thing we’re fighting against:: dominating, silencing and harming Black womxn. How are you gonna lead when you just decided last night that you want to acknowledge racism? So get in line with what we’re already doing. You don’t know the way…you just googled what anti-racism is just this week. Do better.

A post shared by Monique Melton (@moemotivate) on

Melton also instructs white womxn to not ask their friends of color for guidance or comfort. As she explains in one post, “’This is not 1-800-phone a Black girl.’” To surpass allyship, white womxn need to educate themselves.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

The same white tears u weaponize to perpetuate your toxic white femininity in an attempt to silence, speak over and/or assert dominance & control over Black folks, which often results in death to Black people are just as violent as the tears you’re weaponizing right now in your virtue signaling. The white tears you’re crying about Black lives are not really about our Black lives at all, and are more about you. Those tears are a way for you to appear as if you’re “one of the good ones”. It’s like, “look at me, I all of sudden care so much about Black lives that I’m even crying about it”. But we’ve been Black all this time, we’ve been suffering, speaking out & calling y’all in to this work all this time. And y’all have remained unbothered. And now you want to cry. No, your tears are for you. Those tears are your guilt, shame & embarrassment streaming down your face as u begin to see just how harmful & complicit you’ve been in upholding white supremacy. Your tears do not bring us to a level of connection with u, they only add more grief to what we’re already experiencing. Black people have been being murdered & you’ve cried no tears for our lives then, you’ve not grieved with us then, & you want us to believe that all of sudden u care about our lives. You want to care, maybe, but you don’t & that’s why we’re here where we are now. Bc for over 400 years you’ve cared more about ur business launches, reputation, ego, feelings, money, comfort & time than you’ve ever cared for a our Black lives. You may be feeling all kinds of feelings that are erupting into sadness & grief, but when I tell you it’s more about u than it’s about Black folks, trust me. And that’s why doing the inner work is so important Bc it calls you to be honest about things like this. And when you’re honest about it then u can do something about it. How do I know it’s more about you than its about me…one, we’ve heard & seen these antics all before. Keep swiping for more… (And do not comment or send me a DM asking me to further explain this to you…sign up for a class, consult or program if you want to further understand and grow in this work. This is not “1-800-phone a Black girl”.

A post shared by Monique Melton (@moemotivate) on

If you’re ready to confront your own biases, check out Melton’s Instagram and podcasts, which can be found on her website or Spotify. Be prepared to listen and learn with humility.   

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