My introduction to punk culture came in the form of Riot Grrrl when I was in eighth grade. I was an angry, snotty fourteen-year-old, and it felt like a gift to know that there was an entire subculture celebrating the resentment I had toward patriarchal mainstream culture. The more I learned, though, the more I realized that the movement was not created for women like me. The sound of women of color’s absence from the scene was resonant. The question of race was ignored in favor of ‘sisterhood’. It failed to recognize that when you aren’t white, race will always trump gender.
Riot Grrrl is only a case study in the profound lack of recognition of people of color in punk and hardcore. Since the genesis of punk culture, artists of color have been pushed to the sidelines for the sake of palatability. Their music, especially in the late 70s-90s, was deemed ‘race music’ and was never allowed into the mainstream by executives. Even more than this, conversations about race were effectively void in the music, and when they weren’t, they were led by white musicians. Songs like Nazi Punks Fuck Off by The Dead Kennedys and White Girl by Heaven’s to Betsy are important to have, sure, but why are songs like these platformed as anti-racist anthems instead of those by artists of color?
The reality of alternative music is that it has been pioneered by artists of color (specifically Black artists), all for the credit to be given to their white counterparts. While the ‘father of punk’ title has been given Iggy Pop and Lou Reed, Detroit’s very own Death were doing it almost five years prior. Death wasn’t even a monolith of Black punk; Philadelphia’s Pure Hell was an integral part of New York’s scene, playing alongside the likes of The Ramones and The Stooges. Moreso, artists like Poly Styrene and Tina Bell were trailblazers in their respective genres. Poly Styrene is considered to be one of the foremothers of feminist punk, but gets overshadowed by artists such as Patti Smith. Similarly, Tina Bell has been dubbed the godmother of the Seattle grunge scene, influencing some of the biggest names in the genre such as Nirvana and Pearl Jam, and yet so much of her and her band’s music has faded into obscurity.
I’m eighteen now and I’m glad to say I’ve gotten a lot more exposure to hardcore and the nature of the Detroit scene. The past few years the shows I have gone to have shown me the potential of community and I could not be more grateful for that. At the same time, I feel that there will always be a disconnect between myself and the people in the scene. It’s a disconnect that is feeling especially vast as of late with the rise of the current administration
Both of my parents are immigrants and I have felt that weight for the majority of my life. I am feeling that weight tenfold now. Over and over again I read stories and watch videos on ICE treating people like my parents like animals. I am constantly scared, and it is off-putting trying to be in a space where people who will never understand this fear preach about this topic to other people who will never understand this fear. Allyship is deeply important and I truly wouldn’t want it any other way, but the voices of allies shouldn’t be in the forefront. I want to see more people of color at shows. Even more than that, I want to see Black and brown artists center stage.
