Black section on MN

[PatricksRum]

I think it would be great if Mumsnet could make a black parents section/ section for black users.

Also, right now, black people dont talk about their issues here. Full stop. It's not worth the drama.

This a million times over. We just don't. Maintaining the status quo actually means you will learn less about the black experience. I said upthread I would actually post more if there was a black board because I wouldn't have to wade through hundreds of comments about how I'm overthinking things, am somehow to blame for someone else's actions, am over sensitive, or asking me to explain myself. Not worth the drama

If you want to learn you can look at the black section occasionally?

I do have to say that I find the reactions of people here more educational than much dry material that you can find online. It really makes it clear why this new board must be supported, it makes it clear the types of problem some people face.

@Sexnotgender thanks for coming back despite that comment. Not everybody feels the same way as that poster. Support is hard to come by, so I'm not interested in being picky about who can be most vocally accepting of something like this.

I agree @ midgebabe.

@Gardenfish

If topics about colour come up in a black section, how as a white mum can I ever learn and teach my daughter not to make the same mistakes.

I get the the augmented, about being there a sen section. It’s not the same.

If a separated section is created, these topics that I should be reading may not get read.

Most U.K. news papers are managed by white public school boys. The voices are there, the U.K. badly lacks platforms.

If you really wanted to learn you could seek out the boards and just read and learn.

Many moons ago when I first joined MN I stumbled across a long running thread hidden in religion. It was a large group of religious women who were sometimes scared to reveal themselves properly on MN. So they spoke there.

I learned so much about this culture & religion by just keeping my mouth shut and reading. It gave me great insight in to their daily lives, family issues and how they fit in society. It really wasn’t a ‘them and us’ thread. Just a quiet place they had made for themselves.

It gave me a bit of insight and understanding without anyone having to educated me.

If a black woman was to post on MN saying her child had been sent home for wearing her hair natural state you would get pages of comments ranging from

• why can’t you just tie it up?
• but it’s against school rules!
• kids can’t see over Afro’s
• can’t you just braid it?

Then posters coming on to defend the OP child.

Then posters just piling on with all sorts of shit.

If there was a specific board these issues could be discussed amongst other black women with the same experience with out all the background noise and head ache.

If topics about colour come up in a black section, how as a white mum can I ever learn and teach my daughter not to make the same mistakes.

The issue is that isn't the point of threads, people don't start them or contribute to them to teach others; they start or post on them just as anyone else does, to discuss the topic at hand. Having them in one place would make it easy to browse though if that was your aim, without having to sift through the whataboutery and quite frankly, ridiculous posts.

This thread is batshit. I can't believe anyone thinks this is anything other than a good idea.

I can't believe so many MNetters are against this.

Sadly I don't think it's a surprise. It will not have any negative effect on people's lives whatsoever, yet it's obviously outrageous and unacceptable for some reason. The sad thing is that if people didn't bulldoze through threads and put the usual dismissive crap then there would be no need at all for a seperate board, but there is no space where things can be discussed without the usual rubbish.

The sad thing is that if people didn't bulldoze through threads and put the usual dismissive crap then there would be no need at all for a seperate board, but there is no space where things can be discussed without the usual rubbish

Perfectly put

Got bored after reading to the third pge of the OP having to reply to nonsense. Why do so many white people feel the need to challenge the suggestion? I'm white. It would do me absolutely no harm and it really is none of my concern other than to be supportive if black posters believe it would be positive for them.

This makes sense to me. Having lived abroad, some times you just want to talk to someone like you.

Thank you

I think this is a great idea. A pp said this would open the floodgates to have a section for each minority but as an Asian person, I feel there are matters very specific to the black community e.g. hair care that most MNetters (including me) won't have knowledge about to give meaningful advice on. Also I've seen threads where the OP has asked for opinions from people from the same background (Scottish, Australian etc) and no one batted an eyelid or said the were excluding others.

And yes please a section on cookery (I might have a little nose around that one lol).

@Chillichutney1

Yes, segregate yourselves (I am bame too beofre anyone takes exception to ‘yourselves’) and make it easier for people to identify and discriminate against black users, if they wished to.

Why can’t these topics be discussed on the usual boards, whichever one is relevant to your question.

I can’t see an end to it really. Black boards, asian boards, white boards, black LGBT boards, asian LGBT boards ad infinitum

It will only serve to fracture discussions and like it or not it just encourages segregation.

Initially I didn’t think a separate board was necessary, I am black by the way. Because I’m interested in listening to opinions from people regardless of race, particularly if race is irrelevant to the topic. However I am just one voice and if other black people would prefer to chat on a black board, I don’t have a problem with it. I’d prefer it if that board was specific to black issues because I don’t see the point otherwise. Segregation for the sake of segregation isn’t good.

@Gardenfish

If topics about colour come up in a black section, how as a white mum can I ever learn and teach my daughter not to make the same mistakes.

I get the the augmented, about being there a sen section. It’s not the same.

If a separated section is created, these topics that I should be reading may not get read.

Most U.K. news papers are managed by white public school boys. The voices are there, the U.K. badly lacks platforms.

So go and search out the answers. Don't require others to perform their lives in the furtherance of your education. You can always click on the new board and read it if you want to learn.

I dont see it any different as a if I were a SEN mum using MN and using the rest of the site but popping over to SEN for some things I know I will get a better response from on the SEN board. I see myself using both. I would actually post more on issues I don't bother posting on MN about right now. I still enjoy the test of the site but do hate the whataboutery and mental gymnastics that comes about when topics of race or blackness come up.

If topics about colour come up in a black section, how as a white mum can I ever learn and teach my daughter not to make the same mistakes.

It's not up to people who come on here with their own questions and problems to educate anyone else.

I really couldn't imagine having to educate people every time I wanted a simple answer to a question. It sounds absolutely tedious.

Theres a special needs section on this site that had to be hidden from active posts because rabid idiots would be frothing disabilist vitriol and the parents got fed up, understandably. It suffers from a massive lack of traffic and underusage, its a shame the message is Mouthy NT idiots > parents of SEN children,sadly specific boards aren't always well respected. I hope if a Black board is made its handled better in the face of any difficulty, its important for groups of people to feel relaxed and around people that understand.

This thread is the result of scumbags hovering over via the Daily Mail to indulge in endless and totally definitely not racist criticism of Megan Markle and a werid fear of others to call them out.

How strange that conservative right wingers are suddenly so deeply concerned about 'segregation' on here though! im sure the concern is entirely sincere.

@PasstheBucket89 Completely off topic but that is so depressing. True though that the last person anyone would want on their board is an uninformed, ignorant idiot who can't keep their mouth shut.

I cannot be arsed to read all of the ‘all lives matter’ bollocks. Makes me sick that white people always have so much to say about anything that has fuck all to do with them.
Of COURSE we should have a section for discussions between black posters. ..I can’t imagine why we haven’t already.

@PersephonePromotesEquanimity I was not suggesting this topic should be hidden. What happened in the example I gave was that it started as a topic (World Cup 2010) being ‘hi-jacked’ by posters who wanted it and then became an explicit, ‘legitimate’ topic when it was recognised by mnhq. I am in no way saying it needs to be hidden, I fully agree with the op, was simply suggesting an alternative way of making it happen if (as seems to have been the case in the past with this suggestion) it’s not made a topic just by asking. Again I’m sorry for causing offence or it looking as though I was implying this is not a topic worthy of existing. I think it is.

I will think carefully about how/what I say in future as this may not have been an appropriate response in this situation. I am trying to educate myself.

I would delete my comments if I could. Apologies.