It is always a potentially dangerous situation when the microphone is only in the hands of a select few.
As storytellers, whoever has the floor bears the responsibility of passing down history. Unfortunately, in our world today those who have the floor often end up telling half-truths through one-dimensional flat storytelling that breeds caricature and stereotype instead of giving birth to fullness and complexity required to properly explore the human experience.
What we are left with are modern day minstrels, minus the comedic relief for the most part, being played out daily on our televisions, radio stations, and in our music. We must take back the microphone through social media, self-publishing and the power of the internet to tell our own narratives. Not to provide more half-truths but real stories about real people in this very real world we live in. Three-dimensional, living and breathing stories that give honor to the complexity of what it means to be human, especially in the context of the black experience.
As the storytellers of today, we are creating the historical records of tomorrow. They will either be more lies that continue to perpetuate age old stereotypes and degrade our humanity or they will shed light in dark places, illuminating the resounding threads of narrative that weave through us all, like the DNA we share.