The Crimson White Print Edition - February 29th, 2024

4B
1956 / Lyric Wisdom
2023 saw an
unprecedented spike in
anti-LGBTQ+ legislation
across the nation, with at
least 510 bills introduced
at the state level. At the
same time, there have been
attempts to ban critical
race theory, with 783
anti-CRT measures being
introduced across the
country.
For Black and queer
youth, the erasure of Black
and queer representation
in education can have
detrimental effects on
their self-perception.
Examples of this can
be seen in Florida, where
Gov. Ron DeSantis has
signed off on various
bills attacking LGBTQ+
individuals and critical
race theory. These bills
include banning classroom
instruction on sexual
orientation and gender
identity, and extensive
book bans, particularly
of books highlighting
queerness and Blackness.
“I do think that it
creates this mass narrative
that villainizes people
that aren’t just straight
and white, and I hate
that,” said Isaiah Caldwell,
community director for
the Magic City Acceptance
Center in Birmingham.
One course being
banned is Advanced
Placement African
American Studies, which
includes lessons on
queer abolitionists and
revolutionaries.
In an interview with
the Advocate, Brandon
Wolf, press secretary for
Equality Florida, spoke on
the importance of youth
learning about Black,
queer history.
“It sounds like Ron
DeSantis would himself
benefit from taking AP
African American Studies,
as he has no knowledge
of the critical role that
culture
A moment in the spotlight:
Black women make waves in the music industry
Nineteen Fifty-Six Staff
Black women have
seen an uptick in
the recognition of the
contributions they have
made to music.
The recent Grammy
wins for singer-songwriter
Victoria Monét are
monumental in an
industry that has not
always recognized the
talents of Black women.
Her award for best new
artist earlier this month
served as a culmination of
a 15-year effort from the
Atlanta-born singer.
“I just want to say
to everybody who has a
dream, I want you to look
at this as an example,”
Monét said in her
acceptance speech. “I like
to liken myself to a plant,
and I feel like today I’m
sprouting, finally above
ground.”
Even in genres not
dominated by Black
women, They are still
heavily involved in the
process either literally
or by influence. Many
mainstream pop stars like
Ariana Grande have been
influenced by and work
with Black women to make
their music come to life.
Monét is one of
Grande’s most frequent
collaborators, penning
songs like “7 Rings,”
“Thank U, Next” and
“34+35” with the singer.
She has finally stepped
into the limelight, creating
a space in music for
herself.
Genres such as R&B and
hip-hop have been heavily
influenced by Black
women, even though these
genres have historically
been dominated by men.
From ’60s artists such
as Aretha Franklin and
the Supremes, to ’90s
hitmakers like Whitney
Houston, Janet Jackson
and Mariah Carey, Black
women have continued
to emerge as influential
figures and trailblazers for
upcoming generations.
Allisyn Freeman, a
freshman majoring in
news media and member
of the Million Dollar Band,
has drawn inspiration
from Black female
musicians in every aspect
of her life. She said Black
women are forced to go
the extra mile to gain the
recognition they deserve.
“I feel like society
is always praying on
Black women’s downfall
because they don’t want
to see us win or do well,”
Freeman said. “I think that
something that’s promoted
is not our strengths, but
what can be perceived
as our weaknesses. But
honestly, I think that
makes us stronger as Black
women, because we’ve
never had anybody rooting
for us, we’ve had to do
it ourselves.”
While Black women
may be widely known
for their contributions to
R&B, hip-hop and soul,
their artistry can hardly
be relegated to those three
genres. Their presence
can be found in pop, folk,
country, punk rock and
LGBTQ+ youth of color are caught in a web of restrictions
Angelina Bearden
Contributing Writer, Nineteen Fifty-Six
many other genres.
Black female artists
like Ohio native Tracy
Chapman, who has been
a mainstay in the music
industry for decades,
mainly known for her folk/
blues rock sound, have
seen a resurgence in the
last few months.
Chapman graced the
Grammys stage this year
and performed her wildly
popular song “Fast Car”
with Luke Combs. The
35-year-old song recently
skyrocketed back into the
Billboard Hot 100 charts
for the first time since its
1988 release, sitting at
No. 42.
Beyoncé, a pillar of the
music industry for almost
three decades, has also
transitioned into country
music. With the release of
her new songs “Texas Hold
’Em” and “16 Carriages,”
she has set out on a
mission to reclaim country
music as a space for
Black artistry.
With speculation of her
forthcoming album,
“Act II” — following
“Renaissance” — being
a country album, many
country music enthusiasts
have spoken out against
this change. Some have
even gone as far as to
exclude her newest work
from the category of
country music.
An Oklahoma radio
station, KYKC, refused
to play Beyoncé on the
airways, responding in an
email to a fan saying, “we
do not play Beyonce on
KYKC as we are a country
music station,” sparking
queer people have played
in Black history in our
country,” Wolf said.
Joshua Baker, a graduate
student in philosophy
and youth programs
coordinator for The Knights
and Orchids Society, a
grassroots organization
focused on fighting racial
and gender injustice,
personally felt that the
Alabama education system
tried to erase his identity
as a Black, queer man.
“From a formal
perspective, there was no
education as a queer man
who knew very young, I
was having to recharge
myself and look for TV
shows and have to, like,
kind of piece together
these fantasies of what
your life could be,”
Baker said.
Research has
shown how important
representation is,
especially for historically
marginalized communities.
Three-quarters of Black
parents agree that
representation is important
in the media that their
children consume, and 89%
of LGBTQ+ youth reported
that seeing their sexuality
represented in the media
made them feel good about
being LGBTQ+.
“When we’re able to
see Black, queer joy, we’re
able to imagine ourselves
within Black, queer joy,
right?”
Baker said.
According to a study
conducted by The Trevor
Project, 44% of Black
LGBTQ+ youth seriously
considered suicide in 2023,
and 2 in 3 youth reported
that their mental health
declined drastically after
hearing about potential
bans on the discussion of
LGBTQ+ people in schools.
backlash from fans.
Despite this, Beyoncé’s
“Texas Hold ’Em” has
reached the top of the
Billboard country charts,
making her the first Black
woman to achieve
this milestone.
Beyoncé is determined
to highlight the roots
music genres founded by
the Black community.
The woes Black women
face within the industry
stem from both patriarchal
and societal norms
that enforce negative
stereotypes and ideals
on artists. Colorism, for
example, runs rampant
throughout the industry,
making it difficult for
darker-skinned artists to
gain the success that they
deserve. However, artists
“If the only narratives
we see are around grief, or
around trauma, that might
be the only way we think
about our ability to exist,
right?” Baker said.
Erasing Black and queer
history takes away more
than just lessons on past
events; it also takes away
important connections of
self-acceptance, identity
and important experiences
that aid in personality
development for youth,
advocates say. To Baker,
this erasure isn’t new.
“The reality is, we’ve
been very closed off
from education and
representations of
ourselves for years,”
Baker said.
While legislation
changes are sweeping the
nation, local organizations
are still providing safe
spaces and educational
opportunities for youth
and adults alike to learn
about LGBTQ+ and Black
history.
Caldwell and Lauren
Jacobs, assistant director of
the Magic City Acceptance
Center, work with LGBTQ+
youth, providing history
lessons, safe spaces and
fun community events.
Magic City Acceptance
Center hosts educational
forums for both parents
and youth, adult LGBTQ+
events, and proms
specifically for queer
youth that may not be
allowed to show their
identity in their schools.
The center hosts inperson
events and closely
monitors a Discord chat
that allows queer youth
to hold conversations
about identity and
self-acceptance.
“Knowing that you
deserve that space for
yourself to be authentically
such as Coco Jones are
changing this narrative
and gaining mainstream
success.
“I definitely feel like
the industry for darkskinned
Black women has
gotten better and better,
especially since I was a
young girl,” Jones said in
an interview with People
magazine in 2023. “And I
think the more storylines
and the more positions
of power that are told
from a woman of color's
perspective, the more
opportunities [there are]
for women to play those
roles and to hire women
that would understand
those storylines.”
Victoria Monét won best new artist, best R&B album and best engineered album, non-classical, at the
2024 Grammys on Feb. 4. Courtesy of Dalvin Adams via Instagram.
you, regardless if other
people are able to meet
you there, you being able to
build that strength within
yourself is huge,”
Jacobs said.
Both Jacobs and
Caldwell provide youth
with advice about
accepting themselves and
learning to love who
they are.
“It’s more harmful to try
to be someone that you’re
not, and not realizing that
you have to be yourself,
because there is only one
you,” Caldwell said.
Jacobs believes students
being able to find support
networks like the Magic
City Acceptance Center
is important because it
shows them that they are
loved and deserving of joy.
“You deserve an
Alabama that’s going
to not just tolerate, not
just accept but actually
celebrate you in your
Blackness, queerness,
transness and all of those
intersections,” Jacobs said.
Though Black and
LGBTQ+ history is being
challenged within
educational systems, many
youths are still living
and learning through
peers, social media and
their own experiences,
creating a new narrative
for themselves and those
around them.
“You can try and clamp
down on these topics in
our educational spaces, but
you are not going to ever
eradicate LGBTQ people
and LGBTQ youth. Period,”
Jacobs said.
For more information on
these organizations, visit
www.tkosociety.org and
www.magiccityacceptance
center.org