These opinions may be unpopular and polarizing, and I don’t mean to disrespect or cut down this writer or the many people I have seen recirculating this piece — but I have so many thoughts about this as a Black woman who does not relate at all to the idea that white voices are unified, ubiquitous, or the gold standard. To me, they often feel alienating, singular, and, well, very white.

There are obviously some exceptions to this, but I think being raised to be proud of my identity and also having experiences that have taught me to be cautious with white people— because even those who are well-intentioned can cause harm, prevents me from centering white voices and the white gaze in how I write or consume content. My interest in what white people are doing is very hard-earned — in all facets of my life, and I make no apologies for it.

You must proactively find authentic spaces that speak to your identity when you are underrepresented. Yes, Substack centers on American identity, which centers whiteness, but only by those who have subscribed to or internalized white supremacy, whether consciously or unconsciously. I recognize that most people are subscribed to this, but if I cared about what most people thought or did, I would lose myself.

I am a Foundational Black American. Despite what non-Black people may think about it, I know that my context and perspective is VERY American, especially in comparison to other Black writers on this platform who live in different parts of the world. This has resulted in me having a feed filled with content from across the diaspora. I rarely, if ever, see viral posts widely discussed by predominately white audiences.

When I started using notes, I aggressively followed every Black person I could find on here, as well as some other POC and white creators who I felt were using their platforms to speak out for marginalized people. I make it my business to ensure that white perspectives are not the default in any space where I’m consuming media.

If we are not willing to do this work, it’s very easy for us to get sucked up into the machine that is whiteness, and it will seep into how we perceive ourselves and, by extension, how our perspectives of the world are shaped.