Editor’s note: The following article is an op-ed, and the views expressed are the author’s own. Read more opinions on theGrio.
The Grammys played in Beyoncé’s face again. After putting out not only the best album of the year but also her career, she was once again snubbed by the Recording Academy in favor of yet another mediocre Brit (I said what I said!), breaking the hearts of the masses, and on Black History Month, no less.
A few weeks before that, the Oscars nominations came out, and once again, Black women directors were shut out. Once again, Black women’s performances were shut out, breaking the hearts of the masses who believed, somehow, this year would be different.
We know that radical queer AF Black art like Bey’s “Renaissance” album is not going to be rewarded by anti-Black, white supremacist institutions, right? We know, but we still show up to the tweet party, we still turn on the TV with our fingers crossed, hoping against hope — only to be reminded of what we already know.
Take some time, lick your wounds, but please, my people, stand up.
Every year, these white supremacist institutions do the exact same thing, sprinkling a few wins for colored folks here and there to make believe that the door to the ultimate white validation prizes is still open. And every year, Black artists pour their hearts into their art, breaking records and literally creating the culture that makes every industry move, only for the door to be slammed in their faces.
It’s been 65 Grammys ceremonies, 95 Oscars ceremonies; what is it going to take?
And I’m not asking white people how much harder we need to tap dance for their love. The point of white supremacy, after all, is to be and remain supreme. There is nothing we can do but be beneath them, living or dead,…
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