Mother Baltimore: Duplicity
Happy Black History Month!
I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about and watching the way Blackness is depicted in pop culture and how the ubiquitous, fast-paced nature of social media makes taking pieces of our culture away from us easily feasible, as if it doesn’t belong to us. As if our culture is just a cool language to try for popularity points. As if our culture is just a costume to be worn. As if we weren’t forced to create that culture because of the racist treatment we’ve received from others. As if being a Black person is an identity that can be shared by others, regardless of a non-Black person’s proximity to Black people.
Blackness is not monolithic. There is joy and pain. There is success and struggle. There’s getting a silk press at your cousin’s salon while hearing the latest gossip. There’s line dancing at nearly every family function. There’s the overly competitive Spades games played each holiday. There’s also the emptiness you feel when the police kill yet another Black person, the hopelessness that emerges after experiencing another microaggression at school or work, the never-ending frustration you get when you have to explain to a non-Black person why this racist thing is actually racist.
So when I see films about Black people only depicting the trauma that we have, I’m upset about how our happiness almost never gets told or when I see non-Black celebrities like Kim Kardashian tan their skin and mimic Black women’s style, as she did, again, in her latest Vogue cover, I’m upset about how obtuse they are when not even caring about how Black women have consistently been degraded for the style and skin tone those non-Black celebrities are trying to replicate for themselves.
As the late James Baldwin framed it, “To be a Negro in this country and to be relatively conscious is to be in a rage almost all the time.”
But there’s joy too. There’s so much beauty in Black. And the beauty in the multi-layered experiences that we have is something that should be remembered this month.
Now, here’s the latest news in southwestern Illinois:
East St. Louis parents hold another protest to demand a remote learning option
Last week, when students in East St. Louis School District 189 returned to in-person classes since leaving for winter break, parents in the district protested the district’s decision to return. Parents want the district to provide a remote learning option for families who feel that the schools aren’t safe in preventing their children from contracting COVID-19.
More on parent-led organizing in East St. Louis:
With COVID cases still high, some southwest IL parents want remote learning for their kids
Some East St. Louis parents demand schools provide remote learning due to COVID cases
East St. Louis received nearly $1M from state to improve lighting, install security camera
On Tuesday, East St. Louis announced that it received $900,000 from the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity to boost economic activity along State Street. The city hasn’t announced a time frame for when the money will be spent.
More on economic development in East St. Louis:
A multi-million dollar public safety and transit center is coming to East St. Louis
How should East St. Louis spend $36M in COVID relief? Here’s how residents can weigh in
Woman and son found shot to death in southwest Illinois home. Here’s what we know
Esther Cummings, 76, and her son, Ronnie Cummings, 48, were murdered in their home in Cahokia Heights on Sunday. A man was recently charged with the shooting deaths.
More on crime in the metro-east
Man found dead after fire at southwest Illinois home. State fire marshal investigating.
Shooting near Washington Park MetroLink station leaves man with wound in rear end
What to do
This section of Mother Baltimore highlights upcoming events in the metro-east that are relevant to Black communities. If you have tips for events, send them to dsutgrey@bnd.com
Belleville News-Democrat’s Listening Session
6 p.m. on Tuesday, February 22 via Zoom
Since last year, the Belleville News-Democrat has hosted listening sessions to hear from Black people in the southwestern Illinois to better understand the issues that matter to them and learn how we can improve our coverage. We understand that the BND has failed in thoroughly reporting for Black communities in the past, and we want to correct that. Our next listening session will be on Feb. 22 and we want to hear from Black fraternities and sororities in the metro-east about their concerns and how the BND can help with that. If that’s you, click this link to RSVP for the session.
What to watch
Season 5 of ‘Snowfall’
The upcoming season of the hit FX series “Snowfall” debuts this month. Set in 1980’s Los Angeles, the crime drama follows drug dealer Franklin Saint (played by Damson Idris) as he attempts to rise to the top of the crack cocaine game. Season 5 premieres on Feb. 23 at 9 p.m. CST on FX. Episodes can also be streamed on Hulu the following day.
What to read
Grief Over Time
February 26 marks ten years since the death of Trayvon Martin. The trial for his death, which resulted in George Zimmerman being found not guilty for murder, incited the Black Lives Matter Movement. In a special issue, New York Magazine explored the decade of the Black Lives Matter Movement—a time that has brought immense sorrow and reckoning—, what’s happened since its inception and where we are now. In the prologue for the series, St. Louis-bred author and lawyer Derecka Purnell talked to Sybrina Fulton, Trayvon Martin’s mom, about what this past decade has meant to her. There’s a rage that might not ever dissipate.
Know something else that makes me angry?, Fulton continues. When a situation happens and people get involved and they jump on the bandwagon of that tragedy. And then they leave that family and hop on to another family. And then they leave that family and hop on to another family. Yeah. There’s a pattern in all of this.
That’s all she wrote!
Talk to y’all in two weeks!
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