Welcome to !poc!

About this subhive

Like the sidebar says, this is a “dedicated community for minority groups and people of color, their interests, and their issues.” I suggested this community to Beehaw to provide a casual space for POC in the Fediverse to connect, network, chat, share ideas, etc. The main reason I felt a community like this was necessary is because federated social media have a reputation for being predominantly white, and this can be discouraging for others who may be unsure whether federated communities like ours are safe to join and participate in. Accordingly, I hope !poc will provide a nice, cozy community for you all, one which is rooted in solidarity, support, affirmation, and inclusion.

Our neighboring subhives

If you are here, feel free to check out our neighbors on Beehaw:

Some other groups that you might find of interest, here on Beehaw or other instances, are:

Introducing myself

My username is kalanggam, but you can call me kal, kala, or Gil (my actual name). I’m a queer 20-something based in Texas, and I use he/they pronouns. Some of my interests are programming, game development, writing, cooking, worldbuilding, and leadership theory. I write fiction (mostly short stories, but I’m planning a longer novel), essays (especially cultural critique and technology), and poetry. I also have a Mastodon account on tech.lgbt if you want to be mutuals there. ☺️

I’m also one of the moderators of !poc. I’m mainly here to help facilitate discussion and work together with y’all to cultivate a cozy community, so please feel welcome to direct any of your questions or concerns my way.

Now, introduce yourself!

Introduce yourselves here, and feel free to plug your handles elsewhere in the Fediverse if you’re comfortable. I’d also love to hear your ideas for this community and what you’d expect from moderation. I’m looking forward to meeting you all!

  • alyaza [they/she]@beehaw.orgMEnglish
    2·
    1 year ago

    oh hey, it’s me, An Admin. if you’ve checked my profile before you’ve probably seen the pan-African flag i use for my banner, which is because i am Black. accordingly the Admin team on site is at least 25% minority; hopefully that inspires confidence in the site from any of our lurking minority posters.

    also for what it’s worth, apathy and disinterest in websites accommodating the discomfort of minority groups was an appreciable factor in making the website. many of the original core users on here previously used Tildes, where we found that to be a problem. as i put it about two years ago:

    1. Even when they do contribute, minority groups often find their viewpoints, opinions, and suggestions crowded out in threads by the majority groups on Tildes. Proposals such as better outreach to minority groups or minority dedicated topics and sections are often criticized as unnecessary, pandering, or ignored by this majority.

    2. Topics on minority issues on Tildes are, simply put, often empty or bad discussions. This is in part because of the lack of diversity on Tildes, and in part because the few minority groups that do have communities on Tildes mostly aren’t given space to discuss these issues without infringement by majority groups. Indeed, beyond LGBTQ+ topics–which have their own section–minority group issues have struggled to be discussed on Tildes in-depth, despite being good fits for the website and its overall mission. Threads on women’s issues often go silent or are dominated by men, socioeconomic issues are downplayed by the better-off, and minority issues are often not posted at all or are stifled by xenophobia or members of majority groups not engaging with minority positions. This can only serve to further alienate members of these minority groups.

    these are issues that eventually led to a lot of the cool minority voices in the community dropping off, and killed a lot of discussions from the jump (for example: reparations, affirmative action, and sometimes even basic socioeconomic inequality). we’re really hoping to avoid here in general, but especially so in this section—and i hope it shines through that we’ve thought about this stuff a lot and do actually care about it.

    • GuyDudeman@beehaw.orgEnglish
      1·
      1 year ago

      Hey there! I’m white, but you have my full support. My family owned plantations (and, more importantly, people) beginning way back in the 1600’s on up to when they fought for the south during the civil war. The racism and the un-earned benefits and privileges were passed down through the generations until it got to me, and I am making my best effort at ending the cycle. I have asked not to be put on my parents’ wills, and I want nothing to do with their bigotry.

      I will subscribe to this community, so that I can continue to listen to PoC and hear your viewpoints and continue to educate myself. I probably will not be chiming in, just reading and listening. But I just wanted you to know that myself and probably lots of others like me are out here and want to do whatever we can to make life better for everyone.