NFL’s “Inspire Change” Is Customary Whiteness Endorsed By Roc Nation
So Black hairstyles need to be transformed to white acceptable styles to inspire positive “better life” changes?
Want to spot an organization that is all or mostly all white at the highest levels?
Wait for something touted as jaw-dropping innovation that perpetuate traditional, stagnant whiteness. And so it sinks like a quickly deflating blow up doll.
These doltish, white supremacy ideas being slanted as benefiting Black people is not a new concept. This is not the eureka lightbulb.
Roc Nation and the NFL recently announced two organizations they will be donating a whopping $200,000 each that empower “at-risk youth” and one of the ones announced was Crusher’s Club.
This particular organization does not seem to have a goal of aiding the youth, but of ensuring assimilation, so that a white centered society can continue to thrive in the US.
A tweet that went viral from 2016 shows founder of Crusher’s Club, Sally Hazelgrove, cutting a Black teen’s locs. Optics of this are bad enough, from a white woman cutting off a Black person’s hairstyle with what appears to be children’s scissors, but the wording cemented it as offensive.
And another Crusher let me cut his dreads off! It’s symbolic of change and their desire for a better life!
First, Black hairstyles are constantly viewed in a negative light. The only time they’re not is when a white person appropriate’s the styles. Then it’s fashion forward. To attribute a culture’s method of styling their hair as an indicator of their class, intellect and prospects has nothing to do with being objectively honest, but being subjectively white or indoctrinated in whiteness.
Since they (white) have always been the center we have been forced to assimilate and every aspect of mainstream society has gone to excruciating lengths to ensure that we immerse ourselves in self-hate over our appearance.
When interviewed recently about this tweet resurfacing, Sally Hazelgrove insultingly showcases that she is a liar, ignorant or both. When asked about whether she considered the tweet before posting she stated she didn’t because she’s “never seen color a day in [her] life”.
If she doesn’t see color she would never have claimed that removing a Black hairstyle would help with a “better life”. How would she helping Black youth that are disenfranchised and targeted because they are Black if she doesn’t see color?
What she could have done instead of cutting their locs? Perhaps help them to realize that their appearance is not the problem; that their hair is beautiful and something to wear with pride. The problem lies with this society and those — like her and the police — who perpetuate this notion that skin color and a hairstyle determine one’s value.
It’s Not A One-Off
As news spread about Crusher’s Club past tweets, they did what any organization would do; they started deleting old tweets.
Just what the youth needs: a religious, Trump supporting racist who claims to not see color and will teach the youth how to assimilate enough so they don’t scare white folks because they’ll be too busy with self-hate.
As a white person who “never sees color” Sally is not going to teach these kids to value and love themselves. Neither will she, based on her love for law enforcement, educate these kids about the police’s, like Chicago PD, history of racially targeting Black people, using excessive force and not holding their officers accountable for such behavior.
Our Jr CPD they cant wait to arrest someone! Especially hearing they can start making 70k as a cop!
On the contrary, thanks to Sally the kids can’t “wait to arrest someone”. Wonder who that “someone” will be?
Of course, Sally would also want the president to establish a curfew because for certain people the president is seen as a hero and savior. And using the phrase “All Lives Matter” is an attack against Black people for using the phrase “Black Lives Matter”.
When people like Sally use “all lives”, particularly when regarding law enforcement, it diminishes the Black Lives movement to noise. The movement is about the continued devaluation of Black lives and Black bodies, which leads to the abuse and murder of Black people like Trayvon Martin.
Saying “all lives matter” or “all lives should matter” does not alter the fact that they don’t. And “Black lives matter” never meant other lives do not. It means Black lives should matter too; just as much as a white life or Sally’s precious cops.
Of course, Sally Hazelgrove won’t apologize because in her eyes there is nothing wrong with perpetuating whiteness and white supremacy. The problem, in her mind, is us because we are being sensitive.
All she will do is “be more careful” on social media. Which translates to I’m going to make a conscious effort to hide my racism and love of trump.
At this point, it hardly matters what the process was for these organizations to get the money. We were waiting to see if the Roc Nation and NFL union would sink or swim…and they have consistently sank. The vetting process seems to be little to nonexistent or at least doesn’t take into account social media.
If it’s this easy to give money to an organization like this, what does that say about the NFL and Roc Nation’s belief and determination to “inspire change”? If those in power continue to fail, their power needs to be taken away, through boycotts and lifting each other up so that the people in power — the ones who actually see color and therefore see the inequities — can effectively create change.
We don’t need companies throwing money at white people to teach white supremacy, we still have schools for that.
