STEPHEN IS BLACK IN AMERICA
The 23rd of 28 interviews with a variety of artists, writers and friends to learn more about individual perspectives on being black + original illustrations by George McCalman
STEPHEN SATTERFIELD (writer + activist)
Division is created to diminish power. It is perpetuated by fear.
Black: lowercase or uppercase b?
Bold
What’s the best thing about it?
Don’t crack.
Some say we gave birth to cool, agree?
Way more evidenced than to the contrary.
In what ways has it made your life better?
Many. But one that easily comes to mind: I have never been sunburned.
How can you tell if people see you as black before they see you?
Questions: Where are you from? And questioning: How’d you get here?
And when was the first time you understood what it was to be black?
After going to diverse public schools as a child, when I entered 7th grade, I enrolled in a wealthy private school. I was unlike the student population there in just about every way imaginable, and I was reminded in ways benign and less so.
Would life be different if you didn’t have to think about race so much?
I’d have to work harder for a broader perspective. Most white folks have never spent much time being the only white person in the room, while that’s often the case for me. So I feel comfortable in a room full of people who look like me or who don’t, and I don’t have to speculate about it or assume this would be the case. Everyone should feel that vulnerability. I think it’s healthy.
What’s on your mind when you’re not thinking about race?
To be black and conscious in America is to be in a constant state of rage. — James Baldwin. I feel this daily: voter-disenfranchisement, defunding public schools, food deserts… These things all disproportionately affect black people, but I also see this in the struggle for equality around the world and in history. This weekend I was just thinking how unimaginative and redundant bigotry is. Division is created to diminish power. It is perpetuated by fear.
Okay, now tell us what you think about Beyonce.
She is really a queen. This has never not been my position.
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About George: Instagram & things / About Ebony: Instagram & things