Someone recently started a Facebook thread commenting on the diminishment of their scene post-Covid and asking what others are doing to revitalize their own. Inevitably (inevitably??) some people attributed a decline to people being politically correct or woke. From our own experience listening to members in our scene, the sense of diminishment might come from thinking nothing’s going to change and wanting change to happen.
This leads me to the movements that sprung up within the swing dance community during the pandemic and after George Floyd’s murder such as CVFC and MOVE Together (now defunct) where they created a shared Anti-Racism resource. Before that, there was Lindy Focus hosting talks with Breai Mason-Campbell where my group (organizers & traveling instructors) left LF one year with the mission “Speak up, Model, Post.” Some people have effected change while others continue to maintain the status quo.
A 2024 example of maintaining the status quo would be a swing dance organization using a clenched fist symbol in a promotion reminding their online audience how soon a dance competition was happening. While a Google Image search attributes that particularly designed fist to a Civil Rights Fist and #OccupyNigeria and can be found in Canva, this usage is likely problematic being a white fist, knowing the convoluted history of raised fists, and with this symbol being stripped of its context. At best it’s cultural appropriation and, at it’s worst, it could be perceived as a white supremacist symbol.
Symbols have power and it’s especially important for white-led organizations occupying space within Black cultural art forms to be aware and curious of symbols when the organizers likely lack cultural context. We’re supposed to be making space for tradition bearers to reclaim their heritage rather than placing barriers. It’s why using these tools and resources others have provided is so important so as to create more welcoming and inclusive spaces. But… these resources are only a stepping stone in which we’re often asked to Do Your Own Research.