This post may make you uncomfortable - good. Growth doesn’t happen from your comfort zone. This post may make you defensive and mad at me - I don’t care. As someone who runs a photography education group, is IN a shit ton of photography groups/facebook groups of photographers, and someone who follows a lot of photographers, it has been EYE OPENING, to say the least, at the amount of people who promote BODY DIVERSITY, EMPOWERMENT FOR ALL, ETC yet have refused to take a stance on the #blacklivesmatter movement. And at first, I wrote them off as taking a stance for racism (silence is compliance) but then I wondered if part of it was that people weren’t sure WHY they weren’t saying anything. Here are a few reasons that I came up with, because these thoughts crossed my mind at one point too, but then I learned better and I am STILL learning. So far, here is what I have seen:
“I’m afraid I will lose clients/business/make my clients uncomfortable”
My answer to that is GOOD. The fact that you even have the ABILITY to care more about your business than human rights should show you your privilege and the ability to not say anything IS being complicit in the racist system. Do you really want racist clients? Do you really want to service people who truly believe that another life is worth less simply because of fucking melanin? Yes, you might lose people, but trust me, that’s a good thing. White people NEED to be uncomfortable. We all do. And if you are leading a group, you are their leader. You decide what is tolerated or not. It starts from the top, and friend, you are the top in your Facebook group. So, while you may side with the #blacklivesmatter movement quietly and personally, you choosing not to say anything in your Facebook group is the action that speaks louder. If you serve black folx through your photography and are fine taking their money, but not okay letting your clients/people know that the lives of black folx are just as valuable as white folx, you might want to ask yourself why that is. Will you lose clients? Maybe. You can always get more clients (ones that believe in basic human rights). But you won’t lose your life.
“I’m afraid of saying the wrong thing”
If you don’t know what to say, part of that is lack of education. I recommend reading White Fragility by Robin Diangelo or Me and White Supremacy by Layla F. Saad or take any anti-racism courses by instagram.com/moemotivate or instagram.com/rachel.cargle . Acknowledge your fear in your post. Say "I may get this wrong and I am still learning, but I want everyone in this group to understand that [insert your photography business name] strongly supports the #blacklivesmatter movement and if this something you cannot get on board with, this may not be the group for you. If you want to become educated on this topic here are some resources to consider:” [I have listed resources at the bottom of this blog post!] It really is that simple, though.
Do you want your group to be a place of positivity and relief from everything going on?
Recognize the privilege that comes with the ability to just shut out what is happening around us right now. Your black friends, family and clients can’t just “get a relief” from racism (in all its forms). I am not saying you have to bombard your Facebook group with constant news or resources, but if you are promoting empowerment, feminism, body positivity, etc. UNDERSTAND THAT THESE ARE ALL INTERTWINED. Make a post that talks about your stance, share resources that helped you understand what’s going on and figure out your place within it. As much as we’d love for everyone to sing kumbaya together and share cat videos, there has to be acknowledgement of what is happening and where you stand in regards to it. Create ONE post and let people share their experiences on that post. In order to make your group a place of positivity and relief for EVERYONE, you need to let your black clients know that you support them too!
“I just think #alllivesmatter..”
Okay, here we go. Yes. All lives DO matter, but all lives don’t matter until black lives do. Get it? Right now black lives are under fire. Right now, black lives are being taken at the hands of a system that gets off on it. As a white woman I could probably walk into a store, steal some Skittles and at the very most, get detained by “security” - a black man who BOUGHT the skittles, but was SUSPECTED of stealing them would most definitely get handcuffed, arrested, and potentially worse. This scenario shows that one life matters more than another. If you truly do not understand why this statement is problematic here are is a post to help you hopefully understand it better: https://www.vox.com/2016/7/11/12136140/black-all-lives-matter
At the end of the day, you have to do what is right for you. I know the majority of photographers deeply believe in basic human rights and stand on the right side of history, but just don’t know what to say, are afraid to say the wrong thing, etc. It’s okay if you don’t know WHAT to say, but saying nothing is a privileged cop out that says more than saying something wrong.
Here are some amazing resources that have helped me on my learning journey:
