Adapted from LehighValleyNews.com, "Becoming an ally: 'Ride or Die' author Shanita Hubbard visits Bethlehem to discuss having hard conversations"
Using examples from the music of Jay-Z, Common, Megan Thee Stallion and Lauryn Hill, Author, Shanita Hubbard, was able to connect with Thursday's audience at the 1869 Luckenbach Mill in Bethlehem, evoking applause and cheers.
Hubbard, who wrote, “Ride or Die: A Feminist Manifesto for the Well-Being of Black Women,” was joined by Northampton Community College (NCC) Professor, Andrew McIntosh, at a program that was part of NCC’s year-long celebration “50 Years Down The Line: A Celebration of Hip Hop History & Culture.” The free event was organized by Historic Bethlehem Museum & Sites, in partnership with NCC and the National Endowment for the Humanities.
The book refers to the phrase “ride or die,” which indicates extreme loyalty to someone or something and was coined by the hip-hop trio L.O.X. in 2000.
Published last November, the book explores how putting others first has left Black women feeling depleted, overworked and unseen.
“You know this expression, where white women get a cold, Black women have pneumonia?" Hubbard said.
"So if you can think about this uneven distribution of labor that's happening with a white woman, can you imagine what's happening in Black households, where there's this expectation for us to perform at a level 10 everywhere because we live in society, our loved ones, our family and communities, they know that we can?"
During her book tour, she traveled internationally, unsure as to whether her book would resonate with a variety of audiences.
“My book is very much literally centered around a Black woman," she said. "And not only that, it's a very Black American woman's experience."
While reading to a group of mostly white people, Hubbard said, she was excited to find that her book resonated with a diverse group of women.
Hubbard is a Soros Fellow and recipient of the James Baldwin writing residency.
During the two-hour chat, she spoke briefly about Jay-Z's album, “4:44,” in which the rapper apologizes for cheating during his marriage to Beyoncé.
The 2017 album is just one example of a rap star making amends for past wrongs, McInstosh said, which Hubbard said isn't good enough.
"As far as hip hop growing up, I feel like we're maturing. I don't know that we're grown yet, right? You can recognize your behavior, recognize that you did harm, but that is literally only the first step. Now, we have to talk about restoration. How do we restore what was harmed, right? How do we fix this? Like, OK, yes, you acknowledge all the people that you hurt, but what does restoration look like for that person?”
Hubbard and McInstosh, a hip-hop deejay and sociology professor at NCC's Monroe Campus, sparked a professional relationship in 2016.
Over the years, the two have become pals and found common ground in both music and topics that some people might find uncomfortable.
During the two-hour discussion, he asked Hubbard ways in which to be an “ally” to Black people and other underrepresented communities.
She cited an example of how she was perceived as an “angry Black woman” during a discussion at a college. At the time, the teachers were discussing the rights of transgender students and Hubbard voiced her opinion.
“The professor was like, 'Well you don't have to jump down my throat and yell at me,'" she said. "In that moment, whatever I would have said, I would have been an angry Black woman. I [wanted] to reiterate my point, but I'm already an angry Black woman.”
After the meeting concluded, she said, other teachers approached her in support.
“How y'all not say that in that meeting? Don't sit there and remain," she said. "This silence is complicit. It does not matter if you whisper to me when it's over."
"That's not great. That's not being an ally. That's telling me, I saw you drowning on our watch. Do the hard work. Like, say it on site. Like, do it when it matters," she said of being an ally.
To learn more about Hubbard's book, visit her website.
Northampton Community College
3835 Green Pond Road
Bethlehem PA 18020
610.861.5300
