You felt she was speaking to you even though you say you aren’t one of those men, and that speaks volumes to how privilege works.
What resonated from Mannie’s piece was that, although you may not be one of them, there are plenty of gay White men who at least make attempts to emulate Black women. But for many Black women, race and gender exists in a strange space. I can see parallels in the casting out of gay White men and Black women. Do you see the reverse problem of tone and disrespect?ĬJS: I do empathize. It was, however, written as a parallel to the title of Mannie’s piece. SF: I agree the headline was specifically problematic.
SF: Please tell me as best you can what you found wrong about what I said.ĬJS: I know the title set the tone as directive and patronizing. I felt the original writer, Sierra Mannie, singled out a pretty small group of people-white gay men maybe make up one percent of all non-black people- for ridicule and attack. I wrote a piece that I had hoped was a way of describing the commonalities between white gay men and black women and why we ought to be allies. SF: Well, that’s a good segue to why we’re talking in the first place. SF: So is this a good time to have a dialogue on race relations in America?ĬJS: It’s a good time for white allies to get into white communities and do some educating. How are you?ĬJS: I’m not feeling especially peaceful today in general considering what all has transpired in Missouri, but I’m ready for some insightful discourse. Their conversation has been edited for space and approved by both parties. After engaging with his dissenters, Friess asked one of the women with whom he exchanged emails to have an on-the-record chat, in the name of an “open dialogue about race.” Courtney Jones-Stevens, a 26-year-old who recently earned a master’s degree in college student affairs administration from the University of Georgia.