Every now and then, someone asks if media specifically serving and centering communities of color is only needed on stories “about us.” I presume they mean race, crime, poverty, maybe how we need to save democracy in November, or somesuch. The question naively seeks to separate our identities and lenses on the world, which, if you live in our skin and experiences, is impossible.
I have been especially reminded of this the last few days as content from around the much-hyped solar eclipse begins hitting our inbox. Here’s what I mean about stories that are crucial to tell, but perhaps missed by the mainstream:
NABJ’s Black News & Views reminds us, for example:
“As you watch today’s eclipse on TV or through glasses, keep front of mind that Benjamin Banneker, a revered Black astronomer and mathematician, predicted the total solar eclipse of 1789, advancing science and how Black people were viewed in society. As author Rachel Jamison Webster, a Banneker descendant, writes in an essay exclusively for Black News & Views, the Dogon people of Africa excelled in astronomy, as did Banneker’s father, who passed his expertise onto his bright and curious son.”
My own outlet, Epicenter NYC, has had two popular stories on the eclipse. One on where to catch it across New York State prioritized free activities. Another story tells you to be careful with fake glasses and features a (desi) Mount Sinai ophthalmologist who led a study on permanent eye damage. Oh, and how your pets might react. These news-you-can-use angles are a hallmark of community media; they are the obvious stories we talk about at the dinner table and on our porches but often absent in national news agendas.
PushBlack features a piece on watching the eclipse while incarcerated.
Other URL Media partners, such as Capital B and WURD Radio, are highlighting Black scientists to explain the significance of the eclipse. The Franklin Institute’s Derrick Pitts, also the chief astronomer of the Fels Planetarium in Philadelphia, has made accessibility to science a hallmark of his career and community work. And Capital B reports that astrophysicst Neil deGrasse Tyson will be hosting a viewing party in Dallas. “some have used the opportunity to highlight fields — astrophysics and astronomy — that have been mainly out of reach for Black folks. Just 3% of the workforce in these fields is Black.”
I love these story angles that collectively manage to help communities navigate the news, center and celebrate the rich history and excellence of our people, and remind everybody of just how much work remains to be done.
