Stop Using Disposability Culture on People, Start Using Them On Corporations

What do you do when someone harms you? Do you lash out and try to cause them harm as well? What do you do when that person is another Black woman and you’re seen as a champion for Black women?

A few years ago, I had to really sit with that question. A Black woman I respected really hurt me. My initial instinct was to want to harm them right back. However, a friend pulled me to the side and asked me if that’s really what I wanted to do. She reminded me of my personal politics and how dragging another Black woman on the internet went against those principles. So, I pulled back from my rage and decided to instead remove myself from being in community with that person.

Why am I talking about this now? Because four years later those feelings came back when that person’s new project surfaced. I wrestled for days about how best to handle the situation, and finally arrived at a decision to go public about the prior harm. I went public about my experience and as you can imagine the fallout has been really negative. This morning I was informed that there are conversations going around about “canceling” her. And since I know that impact is greater than intention, I knew I needed to speak up about what exactly should be happening in this moment. 

First, we need to stop using disposability culture on humans and use them on corporations.

Tifanny Burks defines disposability culture as an idea that punitive punishment is the only way to hold people accountable for causing harm. Participating in this behavior amongst ourselves is another way we act as gatekeepers for white supremacy.

I know now you’re saying, “but Danielle what did you expect to happen?

I wanted other people to know that if this person has harmed them that they weren’t alone. I wanted people to understand why I would not be supporting her current endeavor even though it looks like something I would be involved in and/or support. I wanted to be free of that chapter. For me, writing what happens to me and sharing serves as healing.

Finally, I wanted these corporations planning to work with her to ask themselves a few questions.

1. How does working through our anti-bias and/or anti-Blackness happen if we’re only listening to the Black people we already know and have deemed “safe”? 
2. What is it about the culture of our business that makes Black women feel like they have to be in competition with other Black women to succeed? 
3. Why aren’t we seeking out the people who have been doing this specific type of work for answers? 
4. Who might we be leaving out by offering a “script” of what activism in digital spaces looks like?

Let me be 100% clear, I will never advocate for disposing of or canceling a Black woman. What I will advocate for is the disposing of corporations that create work environments that thrive on the scarcity of resources. I am all for canceling companies that force Black women to fit into these manufactured ideals of Blackness that leads to anti-Blackness. 

So, corporations, if you’re reading this because you saw my public statement, do not use the mistakes of this one Black woman as a justification for not doing the work. Instead, dig deeper and figure out how to hold yourself accountable for the culture you’ve created that forces Black women to harm one another in the name of success.

Liked it? Take a second to support {Danielle} on Patreon!