alt. r&b singer/songwriter and ap alum kelela brilliantly unpacks racism, white privilege, and complacency in instagram post

But before getting bent out of shape, white folks, over why your opinions aren’t relevant, it’s important to acknowledge and understand that the impulse that insists that your perspective is just as, if not more, valid as those of the people who experience racism. And that impulse is a symptom of White Privilege. Privilege that has always afforded you the opportunity to be heard and taken seriously by institutions and as an individual. A privilege many people of color do not have. And when you—White People—use your voice to silence/question/and talk over POC, you’re not only demonstrating the power of your privilege, but the subconscious belief that that privilege is rooted in a fundamental disparity of intellectual and reasoning capabilities between whites and POC. No matter how well-intentioned your participation may be.

“I want to tell you overtly that I don’t want to hear your opinion on what you think should be done,” the singer writes. “Giving your opinion at the onset of a conversation with a black person is rooted in the notion that we (black folk) aren’t able to analyze and deconstruct our realities that we haven’t thought long and hard about how to address racism.”

Kelela will be performing at our first ever Carnival of Consciousness in Atlanta, Oct. 14-16. Request an invitation, here.

By Erin White*, AFROPUNK contributor