The Erasure Of Black Women’s Contributions: From Past To Present

A disturbing trend that does not get enough attention is the continued practice of taking work, ideas, and creative genius from Black women without properly crediting or citing them as the source. This is not a new practice, but with the advent of the internet, these pernicious acts are even easier to spot. Any aspiring anti-racist must understand the insidious ways that this pattern is able to continue and recognize how to intervene when it does occur. This article will unpack the appropriation in more detail, highlight some lesser-known instances, examine more popular examples of this erasure, and explore what Black women can do to protect themselves.

In the 19th?and 20th?century, Black women like?Sojourner Truth ,?Harriet Purvis , and?Maria W. Stewart ?played a?pivotal role ?in the Women’s Suffrage Movement. Despite this fact, their contributions were largely ignored and overlooked, with Black women having to march separately from their white counterparts at suffrage parades. Black women have been behind some of the world’s most pivotal social justice movements (e.g.?Black Lives Matter ), yet there is a?repeated pattern ?of leaving their contributions out. There are several examples that are important to note. Before Rosa Parks, 15-year-old?Claudette Colvin ?refused to give up her bus seat. Although Colvin is?now?being?credited ?as “the first to really challenge the law,” her story is not often talked about or taught in history classes. In 1969, the Stonewall riots took place and sparked the LGBTQ liberation movement. At the helm of the riots was?Marsha P. Johnson , a Black transgender activist who is credited for starting the Stonewall riots but it wasn’t until?after?Johnson’s passing that her story and contributions became more widely known. In 2017, actress?Alyssa Milano ?encouraged those who had experienced sexual abuse to write ‘me too’ on Twitter. Milano’s tweet caused an influx of stories from users about their experiences. Milano tweeted the #metoo hashtag without citing?Tarana Burke , the Black woman who created the Me Too campaign. On social media, many users felt that Burke was being erased from her own movement.

Black women are no strangers to the co-opting of their creative genius. A few recent examples: In 2016, Melania Trump made?headlines ?after many noticed eerie similarities between her speech and one given previously by former first lady Michelle Obama. Earlier this year,?60 Minutes?ran a story about racial bias in facial recognition and?conveniently forgot ?to include mentions of the three Black women,?Joy Buolamwini ,?Timnit Gebru , and?Inioluwa Deborah Raji , who spearheaded the most seminal research in the field. In July of 2021, the Confederate statue of Robert E. Lee was removed from Charlottesville, Virginia. 20-year-old student activist?Zyahna Bryant ?started the petition that led to the?statue’s removal ?when she was just 15 years old. In an?op-ed ?written for?Teen Vogue, Bryant shared, “I have read book after book and watched countless documentaries about the political implications of the fall of these monuments. Too many of them never mention the names of the Black women who were essential in making it all happen. It is morally bankrupt and intellectually dishonest to tell a story that leaves Black women like myself out of the narrative.” Bryant’s fears highlight a disturbing trend that has manifested in different ways.

Social media is a newer arena where Black women are seeing their work and words appropriated. Critical race scholar Dr. Angel Jones recently?posted ?about this on her Instagram page. In an?Instagram live , Dr. Jones shared that an Instagram page had been reposting her work without properly crediting or tagging her as the source. Social media isn’t the only place where Black women are seeing?their work ?being passed off as someone else’s. In 2017, designers?Destiney Bleu ?and?Tizita Balemlay ?accused Khloe Kardashian and Kylie Jenner of?stealing ?designs from their fashion lines. Images from both designers revealed close similarities between their designs and the designs from Kardashian and Jenner’s lines.

With the insurmountable evidence revealing how Black women throughout history to present day are not properly credited, cited or referenced for the movements, ideas, creativity that they’ve birthed, it’s imperative to call this behavior out whenever it occurs. Whether it’s on social media or in real life, the first step is repairing the harm. You can start by acknowledging what you’ve done, regardless of whether it was intentional or not. It’s important to remember this?tweet ?from illustrator Danielle Coke who referenced white folks who were stealing justice-related artwork from people of color: “you are reinforcing the same system that we are trying to dismantle. You are not amplifying us, you are centering yourself.” Artist?Kendra Dandy ?provides an excellent lesson for how to properly credit creators you are reposting on Instagram in an Instagram story that is now highlighted on?her page ?under ‘crediting.’ Dandy wrote that “ignorance does not absolve you from consequences,” and she is absolutely right. Those concerned about safeguarding their intellectual property can look into getting their work copyrighted or trademarked. Contrary to popular belief, imitation is not flattery at all. Those who have engaged in misappropriation must ask themselves this: how does the Black woman I have stolen from want this harm to be repaired?

If you are inspired by the words, the content, or the ideas of a Black woman, ask her?first?if she’s comfortable with the ways you intend to use, share, or repost her content. If the individual is comfortable with their content, ideas, or words being used by you, it is imperative that you cite, tag, credit, and reference the originator whenever and however possible. Plagiarism is grounds to get kicked out of school; in our everyday lives, we must hold plagiarizers accountable. The best way to prevent future harm is to cite black women. In 2017,?Dr. Christen A. Smith ?created the?Cite Black Woman ?campaign as a way to highlight this issue and “push people to engage in a radical praxis of citation that acknowledges and honors Black women’s transnational intellectual production.” Some plagiarism is seemingly benign but gaining social currency, clout, or capital through thievery should come with hefty penalties. The public plays a powerful role in keeping folks accountable. Each and every time we call out this behavior, we make it more costly to steal from Black women.

This article was originally published in Forbes .

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