Introduction
It does seem redundant to do an introduction to an introduction, so here I will explain how I figured out my role in dominant narrative activism.
My First Advocacy
For most Black children in predominantly white communities, advocacy begins in childhood regardless of income. Children are already the targets for controlling adults, but Black children have completely different standards for behavior and performance, which makes education a minefield.
Advocacy as an Adult
Protests for Black people used to be seen as a way to damage the reputation of politicians, but what happens when politicians have no shame? This is the main reason that protests may garner attention, but have not moved the needle as far as policy changes.
Decipher City as an App
One would think that people would be clamoring to find new apps and approaches to engagement in a tech town during the rise of racial justice opportunities. I am here to say that techies are generally looking to give money to each other, not to those they consider “outsiders,” and definitely not to those who threaten the equilibriums of either the racial hierarchies and/or the tech world.
People Who Refuse to Hear “No”
Black women do a lot of emotional labor, but problems happen when people try to install us into their efforts without our consent. Disrespecting the personal space and time of Black women is a frequent offense within liberal communities, and most people think nothing of it.
Decipher City as a Research Entity
Using the City Minutes to answer questions about Austin’s history made my life ten times easier, and it confirmed that the onus of racism should have always been on those oppressing others, not those fighting oppression. Sadly, people figured that finding the answers to those questions was neither worth paying for nor worth hearing without extensive tone policing.
Martin Prosperity Institute Report
City of Austin Equity Task Force Report
First Decipher City Report: Not In The Plan (My colleague designed the cover.)
Decipher City: Juneteenth Report
Urban Land Institute Fellowship
History on the League of Women Voters: Link 1, Link 2, and Link 3
The United States Census
Working with the dominant narrative demonstrates those who think that certain people are servants while others are tools to be used. Again, one cannot work with people who think that everyone is working for them.
The Pedestrian and Bicycling Advisory Councils
Like neighborhood associations, there are several unofficial bodies who continue to exert their authority on nonwhite individuals, even if we are colleagues. This could have been a low-stakes opportunity to prove that people were anti-racist, but it remained a continuation of the dominant narrative.
2020 Election
After enduring the Bush/Gore debacle, the 2016 election results, the 2020 election leading to January 6, 2021, and the reelection of a maniac, no one will ever convince me that this institution is worth participation. No, people are not entitled to Black labor without doing better faster, and it is simply wrong to believe that proximity to Blackness is a pass on accountability.
Switching to Full-Time Structured Activism
Ironically, this was only a little over a year of my time, but it decimated my finances when I could least afford it. I cannot help thinking about those who refused to promote either myself or the majority of my colleagues, and it makes me happy that most of us are resting now.
Biosquat
For those who think that living off the land is a dream come true, it all depends on who is there. A worldwide population of 8 billion means that any commune can be a disaster as well as a dream.
Austin Water Aid
Winter Storm Uri was a mess to observe and endure, and managing Winter Storm Mara three years later was not much better. There is nothing like a crisis to demonstrate how little people think of those who have nothing.
Precedent for Autonomous Zones
Dismantling of Rosewood Autonomous Zones (Many stories had been taken down and/or links destroyed.)
Education Denied for White Safety
While attention has largely been placed on Florida, Texas has been doing its own work in changing its history to seem more benign. This has led to teachers alienating those who fail to support the dominant narrative.
Project Connect Equity Anti-Displacement Tool
This was a wildly disappointing situation that gave me mixed feelings, especially when it failed to be implemented until three years after we received a pittance. Why hold developers accountable for displacement when one can “listen to stories” and take credit for the work of non-white contractors?
Resolution for Land Acquisition
Community-Led Groups Attempting to Emulate the Dominant Narrative
Back in the day, community groups had more resources because people were able to purchase homes and jobs paid living wages. Now, these sorts of groups are more like wishing wells because people without resources lack access and acceptance from those with resources.
Preservation Working Group
Choosing what history to preserve is one of the most crucial elements of the dominant narrative. Without control, this could reveal the reality of a supposed beacon of liberalism, and I am no longer surprised that I was not a good fit.
ATX Walk, Bike, Roll
A sidewalk is never just a sidewalk, and the ability to walk in communities was never a universal trait and has the potential to change everything about a neighborhood. Explaining this to those who experience little deprivation is like teaching the alphabet to a giraffe, considering that many of them consider themselves above me.
Association for Pedestrian and Bicycling Professionals
Project Connect Community Connector
Public transportation is different because while trains in any other country are deemed “exciting,” trains in the United States are used the same way highways are: to decimate communities of color and privatize public space. Business owners and residents are equally disgusted by the lack of engagement from the government.
Climate Ambassador Program
Golf courses in Arizona are the perfect example of the wealthy destroying the people fighting climate change. In Austin, we were fighting against the introduction and adoration of Tesla, and it is sad to consider that Tesla won, given the current circumstances.
Ghisallo Cycling Initiative
Riding bicycles is fun, but bike lanes and bike culture have meant the difference between seeing bike transit as a way of life versus a hobby. Combining bicycles with community outreach sheds a different light on how people see Black people, even with a shared interest.
Mental Health in a World that Hates
Throughout all the expectations for emotional labor and economic stress from deprivation, there was exactly one fellowship about mental health and racial justice. For anyone asking why Black women are resting, this is why, and rest will continue until all of this is addressed.
Epilogue
Most of these end in disappointment, and most of the people—including myself—have left the “conversations” and the “dialogue” in the past, where they belong. It was satisfying to learn that it was neither all in my head nor all my responsibility, or any other Black or nonwhite person, for that matter.
Afterwards
I am not the only one with a story, but writing this brought up a lot of feelings, which is why it took so long to complete.
Chasing A Dying Empire 