BLACK ART ALWAYS MATTERS
It seems as if it was just yesterday where there was unconditional love and support for our Black Creators. From Visual Arts, to Music, and even Online Content-Creation, there was a thriving community growing. Hell, companies started going crazy hiring Black talent in nearly every area imaginable. It was a beautiful world.
Unfortunately, it seems that was just a fad. All the Black Girl Magic and Black Boy Joy vanished. Those same creators, artists, and hopefuls that were hired for amazing opportunities were dropped like a hot rock held by a snowman. Even now, there have been a multitude of films, shows, and other Black projects being canceled on popular networks and social media platforms. The most recent being Issa Rae’s “Rap Shit” on HBO.
How is it that we live in a world that is obsessed with every facet of us but refuses to love us? We’ve some of the greatest stories come out in the past few years that broke the mold. Steering away from conventional and generic stereotypes of our culture. Defining new ways to showcase Blackness. Refreshing and genre defining new worlds, characters, visuals left on the cutting room floor.
Atlanta, They Cloned Tyrone, Rap Shit, Insecure, The Wonder Years (Reboot), Entergalactic, NOPE, Sorry To Bother You, My Dad The Bounty Hunter, The Creator, Wendell & Wild, The Spider-Verse Films, South Side, Grand Crew, Astronomy Club, POSE, Legendary, The Get Down, Raising Dion, A Black Lady Sketch Show —- these are just a FEW pieces of Black Media that deserved more love. Sure, a few of these got a bit more recognition (Insecure, Spiderverse) but even then, not to the degree and fervor of their White Contemporaries. Don’t even get me started on the visual arts and indie scenes.
With that being said, if you’re reading this right now: Go Support A Black Creator TODAY! Doesn’t have to be me, it can be anyone creating quality work living in their authentic Blackness. Let’s not be ignorant and complain about their being a lack of diversity when it’s all right in front of us. Be it locally in your own town or across the internet, there is a Black Creator waiting for their community and you can be the lynchpin that catapults the creation into the next big hit. When I get some spare time, I’ll be creating a comprehensive list of extraordinary artists, content creators, streamers, and entrepreneurs that you need to check out. Our time is now!
Seriously, when we support our own (not to sound like a Hotep or anything), it greatly impacts the industry around us. Think about it, we haven’t seen a Black Trauma Narrative in quite a long time. Sure, we just had The Color Purple Remake come out recently, but it flopped because we don’t need that anymore. When we support our own, we’re able to tell the stories we want to tell and step into amazing new worlds. We just saw the biggest boom of genre-fiction in Black Media in the past 2-3 years, we’ve been eatin’ good in sci-fi! When we support our own, we can avoid nonsense like the Killmonger Dreads or The Society of Magical Negroes and more great art like American Fiction or The Book of Clarence.
Furthermore, when we support our own, our children can thrive. They will be able to feast on positive imagery and become inspired in their own right. Trust me, I know this because I’ve seen it from experience of teaching art in public schools for the past seven years. This may sound like big dreamer hyperbole, but I believe in this.
