This Hashtag Shouldn't Be Trending

[MohanaMisra]

We all are humans over anything else.
The hashtag "Black lives matter" shouldn't even be trending because by now, 2020, about 130 years after the Jim Crow laws were created and about half a century since they were abolished, it should have become common sense. Yet, since we *are* magicians, it's my belief that we can use magic to communicate something greater. Much greater than what we usually do.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CBFXcQSg7_e/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet

 

[010rusty]

The video is not available in my country.

 

[MohanaMisra]

After you said that, I checked. It did get blocked for some time (I have no idea why however). It says that the video has been re-posted. Please check it out if you want...

(I assume it was because I included certain comments from news channels which, well, aren't really supported by certain law systems but well...)

 

[jakee5]

I really don't understand why color plays so much into things like this I saw a magician on a Penn and Teller's show him and his wife were great I thought. People and even media would have to point out the magician was black, and I don't understand why it matters

 

[JoshL8]

Jakee5 I’m not sure what you mean by “things like this...” but BLM came about because people of color, especially black Americans, are policed disproportionately to their crimes. They are over represented in; arrests, police contact, searches, police related deaths and incarcerations where there white counter parts are policed very much less despite having similar instances of crime. Plenty of studies look into this phenomenon, here is one from near me... https://www.aclu.org/sites/default/...drug20law20enforcement20in20seattle_20081.pdf Either these facts are unknown to much of the US, or people know and are just apathetic to inequality, or they make reasons to justify the actions like trying to diminish racisms reach. It matters because people’s actions, and governments actions don’t reflect this knowledge that people are policed unequally and race has a lot to do with it.

If you are referring to media noting the magician was black, I would have to see the context used. But how many magicians on Penn and Teller have been black? You could probably count the number on one hand, now how many are white? PoC struggle with representation in media and control over their own representations. Having this control on a large network in front of Penn and Teller isn’t exactly common for a person of color in media.

 

[Liderc]

As a Native, I have faced Racism in my life, both from people and systemic, even in Magic, from audiences and also from others within the industry we Natives are normally erased from these conversations though