How can the burning man community become more inclusive in light of everything that's happening? It's been frequently called "The White Privilege Olympics". How do we shift from accepting our norm and shrugging off the fact that it's a predominantly white community and invite and make it accessible to everyone even those who do not have the financial means to attend?My first one was actually a copy and paste from a similar comment on another post on the Burning Man page:
I know this comment is well intended, but unconscious bias is much more of a barrier to Black Rock City being more diverse than the cost.
Yes, there are correlations to wealth and race, but that has to do more with class and income, which also relates to unconscious bias that is internalized in cultures, institutions, and systems [as others have also addressed in other comments].
But throwing up the cost as a barrier actually reinforces stereotypes (albeit based in reality) of "poor black people". Like I know your statement isn't meant to be racist, but the impact of it is reinforcing a racist stereotype, even unintentionally.
Please note: I'm NOT calling you racist. Just from the spirit of your comment, you seem like a good person who obviously wants Burning Man to be more diverse than it is.
Like yes, Black and African-American people are more likely to live in poverty (20.8% as of 2018 according to stats here: https://talkpoverty.org/basics/) but the overall majority do not.
So, yes, let's talk about price as a barrier for ANYONE to attend. But let's also talk about the other things that still keep those Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) who can afford to from coming as well. Because I think the former is where can dig into barriers to diversity as they relate to class, and the latter is where we have an opportunity to dig into the roots of barriers to Burning Man being more diverse when it comes to race and ethnicity.
Does the Venn diagram of these two overlap? Absolutely. But there are also poor people who aren't BIPOCs and BIPOCs who aren't poor who are left out of the conversation when we treat race and class as synonymous. Hope that all makes sense.The original poster received it well, understand and wish they had worded the original post differently, and now knows for the future.
Other comments I wrote including the following.
In response to this:
Stop playing so much EDM! More hip hop/R&B/funk!Stop playing so much EDM! More hip hop/R&B/funk!I wrote this:
So...I know this is well intentioned, but similar to another comment the initial one is landing as racist.
Not saying YOU, [Name], are a racist person, but here's how and why that initial comment is landing in a way I'm sure you didn't intend:
1) It's reinforcing a stereotype and treating Black people like a monolith in terms of what it means to be "Black", as if only Black people listen to hip-hop, R&B, and Funk, and there's an inference that if there are Black people who listen to anything else that they are somehow less Black. Again, not anywhere near your intention, I know, but it's the unintended consequences of things that land as microagressions and are informed by and also reinforce unconscious bias.
And just speaking from personal experience, as someone who is Black and Filipino-American. Like people don't mean it, but when a white friend is surprised when (because of my identity), I haven't heard of a hip-hop, funk, or r&b artist and they have, as if to "tsk, tsk" that I don't know something "Black" which I should...that's actually a microagression.
2) It actually completely erases the Black origins of house music for example, as relates to what Aaron mentioned, and its Black queer origin if we want to be really specific (which, being Pride month, seems particularly important to note).
And while the following exchange begins to unpack that a bit (so thank you), just to make it more explicit, the initial comment still whitewashed EDM generally, and house music specifically, especially as there is plenty of house music STILL being produced that is very much still created by Black queer people.
https://www.outfrontmagazine.com/inthemag/the-queer-history-of-house-music/
So, hope that made sense, especially parsing intent from impact. And [Name], you and [Name] actually begin to get to the nuanced part of the issue so if I can follow y'alls lead, I just want to dig into it a bit more, in that let's talk about how this relates to WHO'S bringing the music.
Similar to how other people have indirectly and directly talked about unconscious bias and gatekeeping, and how prejudices in people's blindspots can counteract attempts at Radical Inclusion, this relates to how DJ's are selected and curated by soundcamps. Like yes, it'd be great to have more diverse music represented, but unless that also means having more diverse DJ's curated and booked, that will only go so far.
And if soundcamps aren't doing it yet, a simple exercise would be to simply put together and look at profile pictures of their DJs. Are there any patterns and trends in the identities of your lineups and any glaring omissions? Do DJs tend to be selected from first-degree friendships and familiarity? Which I think would naturally be the case for many soundcamps as they're often started by groups of friends. But then this and other factors are at the root of the same problem across the community, in terms of a lack of diversity.
Anyway, all this is to say "both and" in terms of talking about Black people and Burners specifically! Let's definitely have more hip-hop, r&b, and funk on the Playa, so that anyone who loves those genres may find a slice of home on the playa. Let's also have more house music produced by Black people, as well as just more Black DJ's.
Hope that all makes sense.
And on that note, even though I don't go to church and wasn't raised in a Black church, wanted to share a playlist of some of my favorite Gospel House tracks, for anyone else who might want to listen, especially if you like house music and have never heard it as a subgenre before. Long term goals are to throw a party here in DC and on Playa, called Gospel House Brunch (or GHB). I know, the acronym is unfortunate. Maybe the tagline can be "GHB! Without the GHB".
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZJKm-NbzC8&list=PLCiQ_zeX-ldh2qNt1BEE6kXAsdvCuPdmsIn response to this and following replies:
Do you fundamentally believe the burn is racist? I have never seen this. interested to hear from those that perceive itI wrote this:
unless it is actively anti-racist, then yes. And it's not perception, it's a fact.
Because Burning Man still exists in the context of a culture, and institutions and system that are racist and center whiteness.
I think just believe the people who say it is, because their experience is actually proof enough.
But also...related to what [Name] wrote, being racist in impact and being racist in intent are two different things. I also don't think it's racist in intent...that doesn't mean it's not racist in impact.And this:
guess we'll just have to agree to disagree. Unless your "are we doing it wrong" question wasn't rhetorical, because the short answer is: yes.
Also being anti-racist is very specific and intentional. Radical inclusion as a value in and of itself isn't enough, if people don't also acknowledge that there are things they are doing unintentionally that are excluding people.
I've left leadership groups in the Burner community because I 1) experienced microaggressions and 2) was not believed by the mostly white people in the room.
Was I radically included to join initially? Sure! Did that radical inclusion last when I challenged their own whiteness? Nope.
You asked a fair question. I, and [Name], gave fair answers. Sure others have pointed out the community is pretty good at welcoming everyone intentionally. But others have also pointed out that the community is pretty bad in how it unintentionally favors and centers some identities over others.AND this:
Thank you. So fortunately, and I say this without snark and all seriousness, being "more inclusive" is not a uniquely Burning Man and Burner community challenge.
I'd recommend searching online using the terms "inclusion", "diversity", "equity", and "access" or IDEA (although I've seen other anagrams of the acronym), if you or anyone else interested hasn't yet.
And I agree that it's not enough to tell people they're doing it wrong. But I also don't think it's acceptable to simply wait to be told how to do it right. Fortunately, with online search engines it's fairly easy to do the work and self-educate.
And I get it, for some, there's a fear of not wanting to do it wrong again. At the same time, and I think it's part of Burner culture, I love that we generally are okay with f'ing up and trying things again until we get it right. And we've gotta be okay making mistakes even with this kinda work.
Like, I love that some of my white Burner friends and colleagues know if/when they say something problematic when it came to race, in this particular instance, I'll let them know and we have a discussion about it. Because they stopped worrying about messing up and just accepted the fact that they would and that was also okay, as long as they were willing to learn without the defensiveness (although that took a while to work through).
Ironically, in some ways, we've got a lot to learn from the default world, when it comes to Radical Inclusion. And one video I've LOVED sharing is this one:
https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1385355681479063Someone wrote this:
Some alternative perspective...Maybe it’s privileged to assume POC want to attend more than they do? Or that finances are the cause? Most I’ve spoken with about it, don’t see the value of a quasi survival event, when their lives are often a survival event. Camping and Roughing it isn’t often an appealing form of entertainment to them. Want more people there? Invite them to camp with you, create a theme camp, get DGS tickets, otherwise there are far better ways to help POC in the real world than equalizing the attendance at burning man.And I responded with this:
So...talking about POCs as a monolith, using "they/them/theirs" to refer to a whole slew of individuals who share a single identity (and a pretty general one at that), is problematic. I hope you understand that.And this:
Definitely game, [Name], especially for learning conversations like this, and thank you for your curiosity as well as allowing me an opportunity to consent to the exchange.
And while I'd actually like to ask you to explain more about the sentiment you intended, I can at least let you know how it landed in terms of its impact.
So I think we can agree on a premise that some People of Color do want to go and some don't, and that often, to your own point has less to do with their identity as People of Color and more to do just with their own interests and priorities in life.
I think where I had trouble reading your sentiment was that it implied that a majority of POC people don't want to go and (without saying it) that a majority of white people do.
But not even having to speak to white people, statistically (and this is pretty crude), one could even argue that generally white people don't want to attend more than they do either, given that the number of white people at Burning Man was ~54,000 as of the 2018 BRC Census, and there are about 35,684,800 white people in America. So possibly only .15% of white people any given year actually go to Burning Man?
And so then this metric of using POC's you've talked to who don't want to go, when I could also do the same for most of the white people I've talked to, feels like a double standard in terms of how one's race and/or ethnicity informs whether or not individual people want to go.
So let me stop there, see if that all makes sense so far? If not, let me know what doesn't. And if it does, does that help you in expressing the sentiment you wanted to share betterAnd this:
And likewise. If I could then add one more thing for your consideration, having had similar conversations. And apologies if you already know and think about any of the below; then it's for anyone who doesn't and/or hasn't.
So the additional thing to consider, in the spirit of deeper understanding, is that when you hear from friends who are black who make "black people don't" statements, to think about how much of that is descriptive as much as it is (if not more) prescriptive. Like I don't doubt any statement like that isn't based on something very real, particular their own individual/personal experiences
But in asking whether it's descriptive or prescriptive, how much of that is actually just describing a general and historical lack of access and opportunity (among other factors) to things like skiing and camping, which are absolutely related to inequity at the intersection of race and class, rather than something that is intrinsic to being a Black person, if that makes sense.
Put another way, just because it's been Black people's past doesn't mean it's our future. Or, that might be because they're Black, but it's not what makes them Black.
Like, it does a disservice for us to talk about Black people not camping if we don't also talk about how some National Parks actually enforced segregation according to state laws.
That simple statement taken alone "black people don't...", even when hearing it from Black individuals, reinforces stereotypes, until one unpacks the complexity of factors that lead to the foundation these stereotypes are based on.
So I think next time, take those statements as a red flag pointing out inequity, and if/when you have the time and energy, explore what the roots of that inequity are rather than simply filing it away as a "Black people don't..." thing.
Just in case it helps, several links to check out:
https://www.nationalparkstraveler.org/2019/08/how-national-park-service-grappled-segregation-during-20th-century
https://www.resourcesmag.org/common-resources/diversity-in-the-great-outdoors-is-everyone-welcome-in-americas-parks-and-public-lands/
https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2015/07/12/421533481/outdoor-afro-busting-stereotypes-that-blacks-dont-hike-or-camp
https://www.youtube.com/user/BlackFolkDont/videosAND this:
Ack, one more thing and that's IT for now, I promise.
If you're referring to conversations with Black people, be okay with simply using Black rather than POC to refer to your friends.
Unfortunately, although well-intentioned to use something that is more inclusive of all POC identities, it also erases Blackness from the conversation. Which is to say, try not to use them synonymously, if Black would actually be an accurate and appropriate descriptor. Because while some Black people do use POC as a personal identifier, there are some Black people that don't.
Hope that makes sense.
https://medium.com/@cvonhassett/dont-call-me-a-person-of-color-i-m-black-5359a03bc35bOMG...I wrote a lot...
