Fund, Uplift and Amplify Women of Color
+ The Toxicity of White Feminism & How To Be A Real Ally
This goes out to everyone who has bought an Antisexist Antiracist Proequality Beer Club shirt, brewed Brave Noise, hosted a Pink Boots Society brew day, brewed Black is Beautiful, who says they’re part of the “community”...you can do and say all these things but when it comes down to being an ally, it takes actions, conversations and daily work.
“We have to stop maintaining the status quo and toxic hierarchies of respectability. We must understand that our involvement in this structure is a problem, whether we were conscious of it or not in the past; we know now and we need to be willing to change our standards and expectations.” - Mikki Kendall, Hood Feminism: Notes From The Movement Women Forgot
Every day we have a chance to be a better version of ourselves. In order to move forward and do better, how we react to discomfort plays a key part in all of that. Personally (hey Ash Eliot, a white woman here), I don’t want to be in the same place that I was yesterday because there is far too much to unlearn from what I’ve been taught, and there is far too much to learn on how to do better. With the recent #MeToo movement in the beer industry and the industry being a majority white, that has allowed for white feminism to be ever so prominent. And that needs to be addressed sooner than later before it causes more harm for Women of Color (WOC). As a white woman talking to another white woman, if you say you’re an ally or advocate for WOC you’re probably not. White privilege is embedded in our everyday. If you aren’t trying to unlearn that privilege, be proactive and listen to BIPOC every single day, then it’s unlikely you are an ally or advocate. If you aren’t having conversations with other white women within your business, social group or network, on how you can better listen to, uplift and amplify WOC, then you’re not an ally. And a huge reminder that if you ask a BIPOC to be part of an event, panel or conference to educate and provide insight on how white folks can do better to support BIPOC and create more inclusive environments, they better be fucking paid for it.
Hood Feminism Author Mikki Kendall says…
“It is the reliance on respectability that allows mainstream feminism to ignore those who can’t speak in the ‘tone’ that centers on the comfort of whiteness. The tone policing the respectability ensures that the fight for equality becomes the responsibility of the oppressed. It alleviates the responsibility of the powerful and the privileged to listen and to learn. It protects privilege by forcing marginalized people to calmly respond to injustice or risk their feelings being a barrier to resources.”
While a #MeToo movement in the brewing industry continues, we have to talk about the white feminism that has become even more amplified. The above quote says it all. WOC are automatically dismissed because it doesn’t reflect the comfortable white tone.
What has become even more adamant is the amount of free work white women do and the amount of free advice white women give to men. And in all transparency, I am way guilty of that. I mean, this past year alone, no doubt about that. This creates the assumption that women will do shit for free and it makes it that much harder for our associates and friends who are WOC to receive the respect and pay they deserve.
“We must work to unlearn the harmful narratives we’ve been taught and that we created in response to white supremacy.” - Mikki Kendal, Hood Feminism
As Women of Color, What Is The Cost of Labor? Beer Is For Everyone writer Kerri Brown discusses this exact issue facing WOC in the brewing industry during her conversation with Iris Adriana Castillo, Tasting Room Manager at the Rare Barrel and Hello Friend Beer in Berkeley. You can read the full article here.
“Well, we should first consider every sense of the word “cost.” What are the economic and emotional repercussions for women of color? What is the monetary value for companies? How much should we charge monetarily and socially? Who should pay, and when?” - Kerri Brown, Beer Is For Everyone
Iris has been courageously discussing this issue and her own personal experiences through her Instagram, which has been followed by a mix of supportive messages and harassing messages. The harassment only reinforces how much this industry needs to be rebuilt and why every one of us should be having daily discussions and be proactive when it comes to creating safe and supportive spaces for BIPOC.
Iris says…“I will be transparent and say that I don’t usually attend any of these gatherings/panels because they are usually white-led and white-attended. Change in this industry for me isn’t just about the toxic masculinity it’s about the toxic and fragile whiteness as well. As a woman and mama of color in this industry I’m very protective of my time and energy being that a lot of unpaid emotional labor already goes into my work. Asking for me or anyone that looks like me to participate by default will require us to tap into some of our industry trauma otherwise you’re asking us to give shallow and sugar-coated accounts of our experience in this industry and that in itself is problematic. BIPOC have so much wisdom and knowledge to share that is integral to real change, but we have to approached [sic] from spaces of care and mindfulness.”
In Kerri and Iris’ conversation, they discuss accountability, community vs advocacy and inclusivity, the cost of moral labor and what they hope to see change in this industry. Please read and share.
“Companies assume that we know what is “just” because we’ve been on the other side of injustice, and that part of our role at any given company or organization is to voluntarily correct those injustices. This is both dehumanizing and exhausting. As Iris told me, “People kept saying, it’s just beer. For you! I want it to be just beer for me too. I didn’t join the beer industry to be a social justice warrior, but yet here I am.” - Kerri Brown, Beer Is For Everyone
What does allyship really look like?
It’s knowing that as a white person, you automatically have white privilege. Being an ally means knowing how to use that privilege to support those who are marginalized. Uplifting and amplifying the voices of WOC. It means using your influence to call out racist behavior. Allyship means if you see mostly you in a room or you’re involved with an event or a project, then it’s understanding and calling out that there is a problem and there needs to be more diverse voices involved.
What doesn’t it look like?
Getting defensive immediately when someone challenges your actions. This is in regards to the resistance white people will have when their ideas about race and racism are challenged. Rather than correct each other, they will avoid the conversation all together to “keep the peace.” This needs to be called out.
Next steps for white folks:
If you’re going to use your white privilege for one thing it should be to amplify, uplift, hire, support and pay BIPOC.
White people will make racial missteps but it’s the response and action that follows that will create actual change.
Be an ally. Be proactive vs. reactive. Unlearn white privilege.
Subscribe, Read, Share:
Hood Feminism book by Mikki Kendall
Sharon Hurley Hall’s Anti-Racism Newsletter
White Tears/Brown Scars: How White Feminism Betrays Women of Color book by Ruby Hamad
How To Be An Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi
Speaking of Race book by Celeste Headly
Lily Zheng, DEI Consultant and Author of DEI Deconstructed (releasing November 2022)
More suggested anti-racism reading thanks to Sharon Hurley Hall
Thank you for subscribing to The Bevolution. For additional articles and resources, go to WomenoftheBevolution.com and follow us on Instagram @WomenoftheBevolution.