Questions + Answers with @heleniye
Over the last few weeks, it’s been a struggle to know what to say, post, and write as a BLM advocate and ally. I’ve floundered, and I know many others have, too. It’s a precious, important time in our nation and across the world, and sometimes the fear of shitting on something so precious is stronger than the nerve to speak up. All that said, I realized I have incredible resources in my Black female friends who are wise, informed, gorgeous souls and, most importantly, live this shit daily.
That said, this is the first interview in what I hope becomes a recurring mini series on my blog. Full disclosure: I’ve never met Helen IRL. I was virtually introduced to her via a fellow writer friend, and we’ve been following each other ever since. Helen is fierce, funny, stunning and from what I can remember of the warning our mutual friend gave me, not to be fucked with when it comes to any and all things Beyoncé. Helen was gracious enough to give some of her time to answering a few questions about the BLM movement, her thoughts and feelings about peoples’ new “wokeness,” and how we can work together to safeguard ourselves and our futures. Take it away, Helen.
I’m Helen! A tender 32-year-old with a 75-year-old’s name. I was born and raised in Dallas by two amazing immigrants and I now live and work in Houston, TX. I’m a senior copywriter at a software company, but my most meaningful writing lives on my blog, fromhelen.
Quarantine has been relatively manageable until the following (in somewhat chrono order):
Toilet paper pocalypse
Watching a man be murdered for jogging
Rona Conspiracy videos
Murder hornets?
Haircut activists
The Covid 15
George Floyd and Breonna Taylor’s murders
Maskless Shoppers
Maskless Karens
Rayshard Brooks murder
Studio Movie Grill reopening, because, like…why?
The BLM movement has meant a lot of things. It’s been a rallying cry for an otherwise silenced group of people. It’s been a movement that exposes the worst injustices that have been happening right under our noses. And in a comical turn of events, it’s been a way to expose backward ass racists that somehow find an issue with the literal message of BLM.
On a personal level, the start of the BLM movement years ago was a wake-up call for me. I was raised in an Ethiopian household and for a long time, grew up feeling like I didn’t necessarily fit in with most groups – most first gens get what I’m saying. You look black, but your upbringing is so different. So, in a sense, I never saw the challenges of African Americans as my own. My plight was that of a child of immigrants – an immense pressure to make sure their sacrifices weren’t in vain.
But within the last decade or so, with so many incidents now making it to mainstream media, it’s made me severely aware of my blackness in this country. Being Ethiopian hasn’t spared me. I get the same comments, I get the same looks.
The BLM movement has been, and continues to be, one that educates me and gives me hope. Now more than ever before, it feels like the world is working to understand just what Black Lives Matter even means and the sooner that clicks, the better we’ll be.
In the ad/marketing world, designers and writers work pretty closely with each other. Once my design partner and I were working on a pitch for a cybersecurity company and when looking for images that spoke to identity theft, he looked at me and said “I should find a black hand. That screams crime.”
Literally. Will. Never. Forget.
Honestly? Using your platform for good is really the whole point of this “influencer” game. That ‘good’ looks different based on wtf interests you. But if you can’t genuinely find an interest in understanding what’s happening to Black people in this country, then don’t share anything at all.
That said, you don’t have to be a baby Black Panther to share your thoughts or support. It’s ok to use disclaimers if you’re still learning, it’s okay to continue the dialogue and not give af if folks are over it. But one black square post, keep that shit.
I’m no expert on this but here’s how I truly feel:
I think this looks different based on each individual’s life experience. For some, the work is just beginning as an inside job. There’s a meme that has been floating around that says it’s not enough to say “I’m not a racist.” Rather, becoming an anti-racist is when you’ve broken into the space of being an ally. What’s that mean internally? Educating yourself on the history of this country – that in itself will knock down a lot of the stereotypes that allow white people to justify things like clutching their purses or assuming a hoody on a black boy is a great reason to call the cops. It also means being more aware of how Black people are treated in your presence. For some, it may even mean having some hard chats with your own families about deeply-rooted perspectives that may be hard as fuck to shift.
For others, the inside work has been done. You know what this country has been about, but maybe speaking up hasn’t been an interest of yours. I feel this. See: Raised Ethiopian and thought this wasn’t my problem. Truth is, it’s all of our problems. And although advocating may look different for us, speaking out, petitioning, educating our circles/platforms, all of these things make it so this conversation doesn’t go back to being uncomfortable.
Don’t get frustrated by the thought of removing certain ideals and words from your psyche. Don’t use phrases like “I can’t say that anymore because it may be taken as racist.” Don’t assume that this moment will pass and everything will be fixed. We’re all doing work — including Black people, to make sure our generations and future generations can exist in a less hateful world. We’re all doing the work to weed out the systems in this country that have gotten us into this shit hole. We’re all doing the work so we can fucking live.
