Banking on Beyoncé
On how whiteness capitalises on Black iconography while refusing to put in the anti-racist work
Let’s pretend you didn’t notice the four-month gap between my previous post and this one.
Going back to school at 30 years old is no joke - especially when I’ve casually decided to learn how to code. Since I’m trying to become fluent in several programming languages simultaneously, my mental bandwidth to reflect has therefore shrunk, and so has the regularity of my posts here. But I’m back to share some random thoughts with you about… Beyoncé.
Don’t worry, there won’t be any Beyoncé-bashing in this space. Far from it. I am currently on my hundredth rerun of her Renaissance album as I am fleshing out these words.
Let me set the stage: I go to a computer science school that claims to be “feminist” and “inclusive”. The student cohorts are indeed very diverse across age, race, gender, sexual orientation, and class spectrums.
The staff, sadly and unsurprisingly, isn’t.
Since the beginning of the school year, some students have made racist comments against a Black woman in our cohort. These instances have been promptly escalated to the powers that be, with an expectation that something should be done to address the situation. It quickly became clear to us that their idea of “inclusivity” did not include race. Again, sad but definitely not surprising. We know how things work in those white spaces - Black people are guests at the table, shifting uncomfortably in hot seats that threaten to throw them out at the slight chance of trouble.
Now imagine my astonishment when, one day, I stepped into the school’s main lobby and came face to face with a massive fresco of Ada Lovelace, the world’s first computer programmer, and… Beyoncé. On the main wall of my computer science school. Etched clearly on the wall, leveled gaze drawing us in, her left hand elevated and cradling an orb like a deity, with the words “Act Like Queen B” flanking her side.
My friends and I were stunned. Why Beyoncé? Again, I’m fully onboard the Beyoncé hype train. But why her on that wall? Weren’t there any Black women scientists or computer programmers who could have found a fitting home next to Ada Lovelace?
Also, why was this school suddenly “celebrating” a Black woman, when they were wholly unequipped when it came to confronting the racism a Black student, a software programmer in the making, had endured within their walls? I’m honestly so sick of representational politics. White people feel like their appreciation of Black culture absolves them of racism, but they never do the work to reckon with racism and put forward reparations. As Twitter user Nadalee rightly stated (speaking specifically of Black people):
Rant over. We even took steps to organise anti-racist workshops for the staff and for the students for collective growth but were faced with so many hurdles that we gave up trying to shake things up. Sometimes, the best solution is to walk away and focus on the bag, especially when so much energy was poured into making things right. Thankfully, I am part of a strong group of like-minded Brown and Black women in my class, and we get to talk and vent about the hypocrisy of the whole situation, while deftly avoiding the many token requests from the school to feature on their website and social media pages.
Other than that, my life has definitely taken an interesting turn on this new educational journey. Learning something completely new, from scratch, at an age where I would be expected to climb up my corp org as a manager, feels more joyous than I would have ever imagined. Giving myself the chance to start anew, while choosing a line of work that speaks to me on a creative and financial level is a relief(let’s be honest, passion jobs are a scam! We’re doing this to pay the energy bills, fam). My biggest hope is that this new line of work will give me the financial and mental freedom to work on writing, reading, and community building in the long run.
Here’s to taking baby steps forward, backward, and sideways!
Stay safe and warm, no thanks to this economy (more on that soon in an upcoming post),
S.
Hey Sab, thank you for this article! Okay so I noticed the gap because it's refreshing to read from you from time to time. Also, dang, it asked me to sign in again, haha. Gosh, it's impressive that you have joined school again and incredible move towards programming languages!!
Otherwise, regarding the rest of the content regarding Black Iconography, I deeply love your thoughts and thank you for sharing your insights regarding the subjects that remain under the covers at most times so out loud. I love it. You go girl!
Merci Sab !! ❤️❤️❤️