Real talk. Change is difficult. It is uncomfortable, grueling, time-consuming, and difficult work.

In the realm of social justice and racism, change is long overdue. Those of us who are pouring all of our time and energy into demanding this change know how stubborn privileged groups can be. We know just how little they are willing to sacrifice and exactly what they expect us to put up with. We've learned to read between the lines when it comes to answering questions and we know all the subtle and subconscious ways that privilege presents itself.

What I want to talk about right now is "crumbs." What do I mean by this, you ask? I'll tell you! In the scope of social justice and radical change, "crumbs" refers to the minuscule, non-impactful, or stagnant changes. An example of this is right here:

celontiv: Can't you just be happy she said something? Damn always finding something to bitch about

The above comment was left on a post I made about how many white folks have been praising Anne Hathaway for making a post about Nia Wilson, but have not said a word about all the melanated femmes who have been advocating non-stop against white supremacy. My entire point was saying that what Hathaway did was good, but it should not be so rare to see nor should white folks be applauded for doing the bare minimum. Allies and accomplices are supposed to do more than just right a post! Yet we are expected to "be happy" about being tossed these crumbs. Speaking up about racial inequality, demanding better treatment, and expecting privileged people to put more on the line is labeled as us "always finding something to bitch about."

A very common form of throwing crumbs at us is token characters. Adding a melanated femme to a movie or TV show for the sake of having a one is NOT inclusive. It is tokenization, which is a way that white people attempt to silence us. It is often used to avoid accountability because, with the addition of that one person, they can claim to be inclusive while using that person to attempt to get away with more problematic acts. Often times, these token characters are just empty shells of stereotypes and the butt of racist and sexist jokes. How is that better for us? We aren't happy to see your interpretation of us through the lens of privilege and supremacy. What we need is authenticity! We need melanated femmes in positions of power and control, where we can make the decisions about how we are portrayed and how we are perceived. We need varied, realistic, honest, and raw representation.

A very prominent example of crumbs in media is: a female Dr. Who, yet she is white, blonde, cis, thin, and conventionally pretty. That isn't inclusive to melanated femmes at all...that's simply more white supremacy!

Now that we've discussed what "crumbs" are in relation to social justice, let's talk about what you, as a privileged person, can do to fight this.

The very first thing is to always be attentive so you can recognize when this happens. A lot of times, crumbs thrown at us go completely unnoticed by privileged people. This happens because you aren't affected by this lack of inclusion, so your mind isn't as aware as ours about it. Once you learn how to see the problem, then you can address it!

There are many actions you can take to advocate for true equity for marginalized people. One of the quickest and most accessible ways is to reach out to the different brands/companies/organizations you'd like to see change happen in. You can e-mail, make a phone call, and post on/message their social media accounts. Get as many other privileged people as you can to join you. You should also make these contact attempts as public as possible so that they are more difficult to ignore. If you are mentally/physically able to do so, you can also go to the offices in person, organize petitions, reach out to news stations, and attend protests. Most, if not all, of the options that require a physical presence are usually dangerous for marginalized people. We tend to get the police called on us more frequently and the reactions to us being there are more violent and happen sooner. Even when we reach out via social media, our voices go largely ignored no matter how loud and visible we are. This is why it is so important for privileged people to take a stand and dismantle this from the inside.

Crumbs aren't progress. They are yet another harmful by-product of supremacy that we all need to work to get rid of!

Discussion:

What are some examples of crumbs you've noticed? What actions have you taken to get them addressed? What are some examples of good inclusion that you've seen?

I Won't Settle for Crumbs