Raise the Rafters is committed to confronting racism in the traditional song community. Racism is a real and present problem in our society, and it hurts our community by making our singers feel unsafe and unwelcome.
Racist thought and ideologies perpetuate themselves throughout our society, and the traditional song community is no exception. We have a responsibility as singers to do the hard work of recognizing the racist history that surrounds many of the songs we sing, educating ourselves about the ways that racism manifests in our communities today, and finding out how we can carry our traditions forward without perpetuating harmful ideologies.
Here are things our organizers are doing:
- Talking to individuals about hurtful or racist songs or comments, when it is brought to our attention
- Actively seeking out people of color when hiring staff for RTR
- Being mindful of and responsible for our own song and lyric choices in RTR and other spaces
If we wish to be a diverse and inclusive community, we must first be an actively anti-racist community. Here are some simple anti-racist things that attendees (especially white attendees) can do, both at our event and in your home communities:
Be Thoughtful
Be mindful of and accountable for your own song and lyric choices.
- Avoid singing songs that could be hurtful or offensive to others — including songs that refer to humans by their race with terms like brown, yellow, or red; songs glorifying genocide or colonization; songs that parody a marginalized group; songs that use racial slurs, and songs that normalize or romanticize rape.
- Where possible, consider modifying songs to remove hurtful or offensive elements (like omitting a racist or sexist verse of an otherwise appropriate song, or replacing a slur with a different term).
- Consider the context in which you’re singing. A song that is appropriate for one venue might be inappropriate for another. Are you at a social singing where people are making music for entertainment and community, or in a scholarly setting? A big session where there’s not room to provide context, or a gathering of a few friends where you have time to discuss a song?
Listen Carefully
Talking about race and racism may feel difficult or uncomfortable, but it’s an important part of creating a strong, vibrant, welcoming community.
- Acknowledge that intent and impact are different. If a particular song choice made someone feel alienated or hurt, the singer’s good intentions don’t erase the harm that it caused.
- Take feedback as a gift. If someone tells you that a particular song choice was hurtful or upsetting to them, they are giving you an opportunity to apologize and to learn how you can avoid causing harm in the future.
Speak Up
It’s important to address racist songs and comments when you hear them — even if you think there may not be anyone in the room who would be personally hurt or offended. This is particularly important if you’re not a member of the marginalized group affected by the content (people of color shouldn’t have to always take the lead on challenging racism, men can call out misogyny too…).
- Talk to other singers who sing songs that could be hurtful or offensive to others — approach them as allies and appeal to your shared values.
- Address individuals who make racist jokes or comments — strategies for this can include interrupting, not laughing, asking why a joke that relies on stereotypes is funny, or taking someone aside privately and explaining what is offensive about what they said.
- For more examples of how to speak up, we recommended these resources.
Much of this language was borrowed with gratitude from our friends at Youth Traditional Song Weekend