Ryan Strode

EDITOR’S NOTE: This is serious enough for me to break the third person. I rarely make public commentary, but felt compelled to express myself upon seeing the commodification of Black male death in real time as a reaction to the George Floyd murder - especially from those within this industry. It’s my answer to colleagues - many of whom never inquired about my wellbeing before or after that day - seeing if I was “okay” or expressing that I was “seen and heard.”

Hey there, real live breathing Black man here. The genuine article, the real deal. The following is uncut, unauthorized and from my point of view only; it doesn’t speak for every Black person. If it scares you, catch the sidelines. If it bothers you, come find me, look me in the eyes and talk to me.

This will not be a message where I grovel for your humanity and discuss what we have in common; there are viral videos for that. You see, I have agency over my own humanity and require nobody’s permission to live freely. And I believe it shouldn’t take a live snuff video to have my existence acknowledged – or to have a conversation that should have taken place outside of February and well before today.

Speaking of existence, I’m fine. I assure you. What’s new to you is nothing new to me. As Omar Little says, “It’s all in the game, yo.” Surviving the game. It’s what I’ve been taught from an early age; I’m good at it and will continue to be. So, while racism and death operate in the periphery – building a fulfilling life remains in front of me. And the Blackness that reviles and recoils some is what I revel and root myself in every step of the way.

Life and death. What we’re seeing is the commercialization of Black death in real time. Again, there is nothing new under the sun because society has placed the value on Black males at being a hashtag, entertainment, live phallus or dead body. Follow that trend if you want to. But when you replace that BLM avatar in your profile once the trending stops and the heat sink has cooled off, how will you reckon the lack of Black faces in your office, industry and social circle? If you need to see another snuff film to be moved, I can tell you there are more in production as we speak.

So far, I’ve seen a former employer with a direct link to police brutality in their employ participate in “Blackout Tuesday” on Instagram. And I’ve spotted another former employer pop up in my LinkedIn feed hawking “Diversity Compliance” tools for employers, but yet its office lacks any appreciable diversity and their founder is currently disparaging the uprising around us on Twitter. What’s more, I work in an industry that capitalizes on Black culture with few (if any) Black faces involved in creating content within their organizations – all feigning solidarity. But please, don’t let me stop you from expressing your concern.

Understand that my body isn’t your commodity, nor is my soul for sale – it’s why I’m speaking without restraint here. I won’t be complicit in being a box on your checklist toward being a better person. I can also tell you that statements on a black jpeg written in white font, along with black boxes on social media won’t save Black lives, no matter what organization it comes from. Neither will washing yourself in a sea of performative wokeness. Thinkpieces found on Twitter written by authors without any real connection to the community won’t get you any closer. Acknowledging your heroes in blue having red hands won’t relieve you. You cannot elect your way out of this, as racism is America’s original sin – a sin without repentance or rebuke.

Realize this isn’t about my humanity. It’s about yours. I’m not in the business of asking for humanity from those who lack it for me. And I’ll certainly never be one to beg for a seat at a table where there is no chair for me. But to truly understand and be fluent in culture as some of you wish to be, you must self-reflect and immerse deeply. Make no mistake, halfway in is all the way out. To make inroads, you have to walk down paths with folks who are physically different from you but are your ideological brothers and sisters. And while you’ll never achieve true fluency in or gain unrestricted access to culture, you will have taken the steps to begin to understand where they’re coming from.

Therein lies the difference between being part of a cause célèbre and doing it because you’re supposed to. The difference between fumbling for wokeness and dropping bail money for a locked-up community leader. The difference between diversifying your environment because you want to shatter the echo chamber and address inequalities – and just talking about it because it’s what’s hot right now.

Only you can do that work; it’s not incumbent upon me to do it for you. Carry on as you were – or move differently, your call. And know that my father – the finest man I’ve ever known – told me from a young age, “You don’t have to do anything but stay Black and die.” I’m fantastic at one and adept at dodging the other. So, I’ll be fine. Thank you for asking.