Hey Puddin's! Happy Black History Month!!! The fight to stop anti-Blackness is an ongoing one and often a very draining one. Have you ever been in a situation where the same theme seems to run through multiple parts of your life and - for all intents and purposes - it's not any fault of your own?
I have found myself in the last few months thrust into new arenas in which the advocation for Black lives, Black voices, and Black education has hit me harder than in previous experiences of my life. Both at work and on social media I have experienced micro-aggressions from those who say they want equity and justice but do nothing with integral intentions to achieve those goals. It's the moving of the goal post under the guise of inclusivity and diversity fror me. Everyday, I'm more aware of (and in line with) why Harriet Tubman carried that pistol! Everyone can't go with you and I'll be damned - just because one person doesn't want to move forward - that they fuck it up for everyone else moving toward a common goal.
Almost 7 years ago I was a broadcaster for an online brand called Sonicbox. It was a marketplace of sorts where creatives would create a channel on their platform and stream original content. As a singer I would stream for eight hours a day 5-6 days a week. I would do reality tv reviews and basically everything I was doing on my social media. During one of my streaming sessions, I created a picture video to accompany my vocal rendition of Billie Holiday's signature song, Strange Fruit. The video did well, people enjoyed it and it remained on the platform for ALL of these years.
Well, today I got a noification from YouTube that my video violates their Community Guidelines for promoting self-harm! You read that right! SELF-HARM! Every picture in this video is a video of someone being whipped or lynched. It is the depiction of the history of this nation and how it's people have treated Black folks for centuries. These Black bodies did not do this to themselves!
Needless to say I appealed the decision and within minutes, my appeal was denied. Luckily I had long since saved the video and I'm presenting it here for you to see/hear for yourself. Now you tell me? Should YouTube have taken this down?
**The On The Jaye Spot Website NO LONGER Exists**
Cover Art Courtesy of Secret Los Angeles - Fair Use
I'm happy you was able to create your own space to display your art. I didn't see anything wrong with your work card. Don't allow nothing or no one to discourage you from being the blessing that God made.🙏🏾♥️✊🏾🇺🇸