In an inspiring display of allyship and a willingness to take the backseat, white woman Joanna Nelson is committed to uplifting the voices of Black women who agree with her.
“As shared on my Twitter last month, it’s time to step back, and listen to and uplift the voices of Black women,” says Joanna, who did not specify which Black women she was referring to, but seems to only boost the messaging of those who share all her views specifically.
The discrepancy between Joanna’s words and her actions first came to light when she replied, “talk to me when you’ve decided to VOTE,” to a Tweet of Colin Kaepernick’s addressing police brutality.
Fatimah Priest, a Black woman and Twitter user, responded to Joanna’s reply explaining why it was disrespectful and irrelevant to Kaepernick’s point, however, Joanna was decidedly disinterested in uplifting this particular Black woman’s voice.
“Angela Davis is voting,” Joanna replied at the time. “Do you think you know more than Angela Davis?”
Fatimah, for the record, did vote in the election, but she’s not the only one unconvinced by this little advocate’s methods.
“I’m just not sure what she really means when she says she wants to uplift Black women’s voices,” says an acquaintance, Nicole Smith. “Black women aren’t some abstract concept, nor a monolith. Are you really uplifting Black women or using them as a prop to legitimize your own opinions?”
But true to form, Joanna isn’t letting anyone’s challenge or critique of her behavior pierce the surface.
“I’ve endured enough bullying from Bernie Bros to know when it’s not worth giving someone my time,” says Joanna, subtlety implying that anyone who disagrees with her is white and male, despite that often not being the case.
“Either way, we’re winning. Kamala is freaking Vice President-Elect,” Joanna says. “So I’m gonna sit back for a moment, relax, and continue to amplify the voices of Black women.”
At press time, there was still no word on what exactly any part of that statement means.
