Can You Start Calling Yourself an Activist?
I realized that for a long time I was uncomfortable with calling myself an activist, as though I wasn’t notable of the word. It made me realize that activism is really trying to find a way to express yourself through a channel of being, or trying to create space for a way of being, that is inclusive of all people. And in that it means that there are so many ways to be a part of helping that space come to fruition. In which case I no longer am uncomfortable to call myself an activist because I am one.
We come from a very engaged generation, and because of social media we really have defied the geographic borders that usually separate us, and paid more attention to how do we help establish our international community, and how do we find things to do that really help us rise together. In being a part of Generation Z, what I love the most about it is our willingness to educate one another. I feel like I became an activist because of my love of history, and because I was learning about different cultures and identities and ways of being in a space in which I could recognize the interconnectedness of it all.
In which case our generation is kind of become comfortable in helping one another grow, and in trying to I guess compensate for what we don’t know, and it’s allowed me to learn from podcasts. All of my favorite podcasts are on NPR, so I’m always listening to podcasts like Pod Save America, Code Switch, The Nod, and Hidden Brain. I try to keep a wide range in terms of what I listen to and get multiple perspectives on it.
I think podcasts are such a great way for spreading information, and it’s something that is so accessible to everyone. I feel like as somebody who learns through stories and through storytelling, there are so many platforms in which we could discuss the intersectionality and the detail of a certain identity. There’s no longer a need to broad stroke what a certain identity or way of being is like because we have the platform to really get into the detail of it, and understand that our experiences aren’t monolithic.
Even if it seems like we have everything in common, our experiences are different, and there’s no need anymore to feel as though we must all fit into one experience to be of one community. We can appreciate our community and appreciate our different experiences at the same time, and I feel like podcasts for me are a way of appreciating ways of being that I am not familiar with. I help familiarize it with myself, and help normalize it for myself which gives me the space to help normalize it for the people around me as well.
It comes back to this idea that there is not a monolithic experience, and if our mindset is that there is one way of experiencing something than it does not leave space or room for everybody to come forward and to progress together. I understand even as a young black girl I still have privilege that other people don’t have. I’m able to live in a very safe community and in spaces in which I’m allowed to grow as a person.
I’m given these spaces and not everybody is given that space, and so how do I even check that privilege that I have to allow myself to share that space, and understand what can I do to optimize that space so that it works for everybody’s advantage. I feel like my education has been a resource in order to expand my realm of knowledge, and figure out how I can be a contributing member to this society.
