The Origin of Allies for Black Voices
By Grace Crangle
My name is Grace Crangle, I’m 19 years old, and I have lived most of my life in Northern Virginia. Once I graduated high school though, I decided that I wanted to see more of the world than just Virginia. I am currently a rising sophomore at Colorado State University in Fort Collins, Colorado.
I am majoring and Communication Studies and minoring in Film Studies in order to hopefully pursue a career in social media and/or the film industry. I’ve always had a passion for creating content that is not only important to me, but that is also important to others, and I hope to one day change the world!
I’ve always been very passionate about social justice issues like feminism and racial justice, but now that I’m a young adult, and with the recent rise of the Black Lives Matter movement, I’ve realized that there is more than I can (and should) do than just post on social media about it. Two of my best friends, Roma Sharma and Nikita Sajai, felt the exact same way.
This was much easier said than done, however. Because we are in the midst of a pandemic, and we realized that not everyone was able to go out to protest, canvas, march, or attend events with a large crowd. Roma, Nikita, and I wanted to figure out a safe alternative to support the Black community while keeping ourselves and others safe.
We found that while we, as non-Black individuals, want to speak UP for the Black community, it is equally as important to not speak OVER.
The three of us decided to join forces with another mutual friend, Pooja Tanjore, and she got us connected with the Loudoun County National Organization for Women (NOW http://loudouncountynow.org).
Before we knew it, we were on a Zoom call with NOW members and figured out our plan: we were going to host weekly Zoom sessions led by members of the Black community in order to provide their voices with a platform and encourage our community to listen and learn how to be the best allies possible. We found that while we, as non-Black individuals, want to speak UP for the Black community, it is equally as important to not speak OVER. By providing a platform for these voices who are too often silenced, Allies for Black Voices was born.
As of now, July 18th, 2020, we are almost in week five of our sessions. I have put everything into creating our Instagram account, making the flyers each week, advertising the sessions accordingly, and recording and uploading the sessions onto our YouTube channel. I’m not going to lie; Allies for Black Voices has put a lot on my plate. With that though, has come one of the most fulfilling experiences of my life.
For the first time, I feel as though what I am doing is REALLY making a difference. It has been an incredible opportunity to make these connections and to meet so many inspiring Black leaders, business owners, social media influencers, and fellow activists. I think this kind of experience is so necessary, especially for myself as a white person, because of the privilege that comes with the color of my skin. If I really wanted to, I could just delete social media and never have to think about the Black Lives Matter movement ever again – simply because it doesn’t impact my daily life.
I think it’s important to use the privilege and power that comes with my white skin to uplift those who our country has failed time and time again.
My white skin is a shield from the racism, discrimination, and violence that Black people have to experience every day, simply because of the color of THEIR skin. For this reason, I think it’s important to use the privilege and power that comes with my white skin to uplift those who our country has failed time and time again.
Going forward, I’m not really sure where this project will take me. While our series is planned for the rest of the summer, we’re not quite sure what will happen to Allies for Black Voices in the fall and beyond. I would love to keep this going in some way, shape, or form, and I know that the rest of the team agrees. Personally, whether it’s with Allies for Black Voices or not, I want to continue to advocate for social justice.
I’ve considered politics, activism, and everything in between- all I know is that I want to help people. I want to live for more than just myself. So, I guess we’ll just have to wait and see!
Become an Ally and join this Thursday’s session at 4 p.m.
And continue to keep up with Allies for Black Voices:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alliesforblackvoices/
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2Aa-rq5F8KoWa8sJosIGGw
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/ally4blkvoices
- Our Loudoun County NOW page: https://loudouncountynow.org/allies-for-black-voices/
- Email: alliesforblackvoicesnow@gmail.com
- SIGN UP FOR OUR REMIND! Text @allies4 to 81010.
Even One Voice 