Over the past six weeks, the Black Lives Matter movement has become an important topic that has gained more attention. Specifically the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmuad Arbery, created an uproar in society. There have been ongoing protests and marches for justice for these three individuals and many others who were innocently killed simply because of the color of their skin. It is time for Indians to change their outlook on the black community and black culture. We must do more to help create change and fight for justice. There are three things we felt were necessary to discuss: indian celebrities, Gen Z’s involvement in the movement, and a change of perspective in India.
Social Media is the easiest place to go to for information on current issues. It is a source of live information that keeps being spread to create awareness. Many people were outraged by Derek Chauvin putting his knee on George Floyd’s neck and suffocating him for nearly nine minutes. This anger fueled a need for change, not only in adults, but also in Gen Z. Teenagers all around the world spoke out and used their social media platforms to spread petitions, pre-written emails, donation links, and Google documents full of resources on how to help the black lives matter movement.
On Tuesday June 2nd, a “black out tuesday” initiative was set in place. Everyone posted black tiles on their Instagram feeds to show that they stand with the black community and that all lives can’t matter until Black Lives Matter. A specific hashtag was created (#blackouttuesday) so that the #blacklivesmatter hashtag would not be bombarded with black tiles and people could find useful information on how they could help the movement. Disappointingly, 24 million people posted black tiles but only 12 million people signed the Justice for George Floyd petition. As of July 1st, there are 23.3 million posts under the black out tuesday hashtag and a little less than 19 million people have signed the petition. As a society that is consistently keeping up with social media and spends every minute of our free time on our devices, why is this movement being seen as a trend?
Although originally about half of the people who posted a black tile on their instagram feed signed the justice for George Floyd petition, there has been progress. Gen Z has been quick to utilize social media to not only educate their peers and spread awareness, but to call out others when they are in the wrong. A quote from a Forbes article title says “As a generation raised among culture, they’re quick to call out companies and politicians guilty of performative wokeness”. Gen Z was quick to post a list of black owned businesses you can support, however, they were also quick to call out major brands and companies who are not racially inclusive. For example, the brand Anthropologie has received backflash “after several former employees claimed that stores in California, Chicago, Seattle, NYC and Canada use the code name ‘Nick’ to refer to Black shoppers” (The Flare). Former shoppers also came out and stated that they were often followed and watched by store employees simply because they were black. Former employees have also said that they were asked to keep a close eye on black shoppers. In the past, Gucci has been accused of selling a sweater that resembles blackface, however, the brand has since apologized for their ignorance. They also came to the realization and spoke about how the education system is flawed. In school, students are taught that the Civil Rights movement was a big step forward for equal rights for all people. However, it is ironic that some of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s quotes still apply today. The Civil Rights movement was a good step in the right direction, but it does not mean we should stop fighting for equal rights.
We look up to celebrities, especially from a young age, for influence. We may not realize it, but celebrities impact and shape who we are today. For example, girls seeing stick thin Victoria’s Secret models influence these young girls’ futures and self image; they consider these models as the beauty standard. So, celebrities are important, and it’s important that they are contributing a good influence for generations growing up. However, our main Indian representation has not recently been a great influence for teenagers and tweens.
Lilly Singh, an Indian comedian, has often been caught for appropriating black culture. She “keeps the Carribean-influenced accents, cornrows and the backward baseball caps for her social media fans”, but at the end of the day, she can take off her cornrows and backwards cap and go to sleep (The Swaddle). In fact, “her remix of Ding Dong’s song, particularly the fake accent, whining and use of ‘badgyal’, is pretty problematic. Because it’s cultural appropriation” (The Flare). Singh posted a video of her singing a song that clearly uses a Jamaican accent. So, what does this mean? Necessarily younger people see her as a role model. Yes, she has stood up for the LBGTQ+ community and preaches equality, but by appropriating black culture, how is she striving for equality. Just as angry as Indians get when they see a non Indian celebrity wearing Indian clothes for their aesthetic, Singh does not understand black people’s point of view. By continuing the appropriation of cornrows and other black fashion trends, Singh is influencing her fan base and indirectly telling them that it is okay to dress like this since she dresses like this. We believe that Lilly Singh isn’t the best role model for younger Indian generations, especially because she “has always either ignored or fired back at critics, never fully engaging the ways that her work may be harmful to those communities” (Teen Vogue). Lilly has never once addressed her appropriation and continues to face the backflash. Black culture is not her aesthetic.
Navaraj Singh Goraya, popularly known as “NAV”, is an Indian-Canadian singer, songwriter, and producer. As Nav is one of the only Indians in the American music industry, it is common for many Indians to support this artist. However, it has been noted that he has said the n-word in his music before. In an exclusive interview, Nav says that “the neighbourhood [he] grew up in is very multicultural. It goes from Chinese to White to Black to Jamaican, everything, right? Everybody uses that word freely. A Chinese guy is saying it to [him], [he’s] saying it to a Black guy, and a Black guy is saying it to [him]” (Complex). Having the “n-word pass” or living in a predominantly black community does not give the excuse to any non black person to use this racial slur. And what has Nav taught many Indians? That it is okay for Indians to say the n-word because he has said it. Although Nav has said that he will no longer use the n-word in future songs, there is still a whole population of people that he has influenced and are continuing to use this racial slur. We already don’t have much Indian representation in the media; the small amount we have should be spreading positive messages.
It is time for Indians to change their perspective on Black Lives Matter. Here is a quote from Hasan Minhaj’s show Patriot Act that does a great job of explaining how Indians view the black community. “Asians, we love seeing black excellence: Barack, Michelle, Jay, Beyoncé. Give me the Travis Scott 4’s. We spent the last 5 weeks praying at the altar of Michael Jordan. How could we be afraid? We love black America. Yeah, on screen. In our living rooms. But if a black man walks into your living room, or wants to date– God forbid, marry– your daughter? You’d call the cops.” “The guy who owns the store– did you know this? He’s Arab-American! His clerk called the cops on Floyd. That is America.” India’s racism towards black people comes from the deep rooted issue of colorism which originated from the caste system. Click the article here to learn more about black stereotypes in India.
As Indians and people of color, we need to be allies for the black community and stand with them. Below is a list of resources you can use to help contribute to the Black Lives Matter movement.
Text FLOYD to 55156
Text ENOUGH to 55156
Text JUSTICE to 55156
Text JUSTICE to 668366
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