Grumpy Spoken Word Society

The Bayou of Pigs: The US-led plot to invade Dominica UGRA Report by Ariba Fatima (2021-22), supporting Dr Imaobong Umoren on a project about a US-led plot to invade Dominica

I am probably going to hurt some feelings with this, but this isn’t about shame and blame—it’s about collective accountability. Being called to account doesn’t always give us warm fuzzy feelings inside. But as much as I try to be gentle in this space when it’s warranted, I also don’t shy away from real talk and speaking the truth.

The data is showing what Black folks have known to be true all along.

Black Lives Matter was nothing more than an aesthetic for a lot of y’all.

All that “listening and learning” and other performative stuff folks did in 2020 didn’t mean crap when the chips were down. We have Proud Boys, N***s, and all manner of white supremacist hate groups that have sprung up in the past eight years. America’s mistreatment of Black people is being redacted from history curricula in public schools. There has been an uptick in anti-Black violence.

Black folks have to buy the same gas and groceries as everybody else. We have to be able to afford to live in the same economy.

And yet we somehow managed to find the moral courage not to vote for a guy convicted of sexual misconduct, who fomented an insurrection, and who is corrupt and immoral in just about every way imaginable.

The only ones riding for Black folks (and by extension other marginalized groups) is Black people, and Black women—as usual—are the ones who got everybody else’s backs.

Non-Black women often chide Black women for our lack of “solidarity” and “sisterhood” with them. These numbers are a reflection of the reasons why we are often wary of your “solidarity.” It often comes at our expense.

Imagine telling on yourselves this loud…

And now is not the time to “this white woman.” If you feel the impulse to defend, deflect, do the equivalent of white tears, virtue signal, “listen and learn,” or anything else please don’t. It’s not the time. This information is here for you to quietly reflect on.

If you didn’t vote for Trump, fine. You’re a Good Noodle. I’m not talking to or about you. Please don’t make this post about you and your virtue or hurt feelings at being lumped in with everyone else. Go and collect your people.

Image source: NBC News Exit Poll Data

Update: I updated this post to reflect the latest data, which was posted at 9:35am ET Nov. 6th. These numbers might shift some. The initial graphic I posted was from either late last night or this morning.