Byte Me #16: Breonna Taylor, police surveillance, and virtuencers

that’s what they said

Social media has undeniably been a crucial part of spreading the truth of George Floyd’s death, as well as the Black Lives Matter movement at large. But some social media practices hurt more than they help.

This month, we’re going to defer to four New York Times staffers — Jasmine Howard, Tariro Mzezewa, Lindsey Underwood, and Caity Weaver — who discussed Instagram’s #BlackoutTuesday.

We’ve included some quotes from their chat below, but would recommend you read the full thing on the NYT site.

Lindsey: I don’t post on Instagram often, but today I felt a pull to post. My feed was flooded with black squares, but I just couldn’t pull the trigger. I felt conflicted about seeing so many of my white friends — who may have great intentions — posting the blackout. I just imagine some level of satisfaction they may feel that they “spoke out,” but I’m not sure what it really accomplishes.

Tariro: We’ve all seen performative and insincere allyship in the days since George Floyd died in police custody, and some of us may come at something like this with some degree of skepticism.

Jasmine: I’ve seen a few posts where I’m like, “I would’ve rather you’d done nothing.”

Caity: My initial reaction was: This feels sort of empty. A couple of my black friends posted the squares, but the vast majority of people who did it on my feeds were white. Non-black people of color seemed to be split.

Tariro: Also, guys, BRANDS! Brands love the square!

Caity: I love holding brands accountable financially. I’m glad record companies are making donations today. But also: I don’t look to brands for inspiration, news, or guidance.

You can check out their full conversation here.

For more discussions you should listen to this week, here are some incredible podcasts:

• 1619 — Created by Pulitzer-winning journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones, this podcast is part of a broader editorial project from The New York Times, which aims to “reframe the country’s history by placing the consequences of slavery and the contributions of black Americans at the very center of our national narrative.” The podcast is excellent.
• The Read — Hosted by Kid Fury and Crissle, two black, queer media personalities that put out this hilarious, politically-charged, and articulate discussion of everything from police brutality to hip-hop culture and personal advice once a week. Started in 2013, this podcast is one of the original greats — and Gigi’s all time favorite. Check out the latest episode here.
• Still Processing — Another NYT podcast! Still Processing is hosted by Jenna Wortham and Wesley Morris, two NYT culture writers. Each week they pick apart a piece of culture in a highly intellectual way. We especially loved this episode where they compared Jordan Peele’s Us to Toni Morrison’s Beloved.
• Bobo and Flex — This cross-continental podcast is hosted by two friends “on a quest to decolonize our minds, intersect our feminism, but most importantly, give us all the tools necessary to stay away problematic boys!” You can listen to their latest episode here.
• Code Switch — This episode of NPR’s Code Switch podcast is a thought-provoking interview with Alex S. Vitale (who wrote the 2017 book The End of Policing) about why we don’t need law enforcement as much as we think.

the best advice

In this section, we ask women much smarter than us about the best piece of professional advice they’ve ever received.

This months’ advice comes from Dr. Jacqueline Copeland-Carson, the COO, and Brenda Darden Wilkerson, President and CEO of AnitaB.org, an organization that connects, inspires, and strives for greater equality for women technologists in business, academia, and government.

Brenda D Wilkerson — “The best advice was ‘Do you, Brenda.’ Especially as a Black female in tech, this is often hard when so many times the culture seeks to erase difference. The sad thing is the very thing that brings about innovation in so many instances is the empathy of each person’s experiences. So bringing authentically my perspective to the conversation, especially if it’s different, is the best thing I can do for the project or team I’m on to help us make sure all bases are covered.”

J. Copeland-Carson — “Best advice was to seek excellence but remember you can’t have it all at the same time; and ways to always keep career alive while caring for yourself and others. Also, building ladders of opportunity for others is the best way to propel opportunities for yourself.”

You can read the whole of Copeland-Carson and Wilkerson’s AMA here. 

What do you think of Byte Me? Love it? Tell us. Hate it? Tell us — as female journalists we love hate mail.

<3 The TNW shrews
Cara ([email protected])
Anouk ([email protected])
& Georgina ([email protected])

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