Guest Post: Toni Baldwin
8123 Guest Post
Written by member of the 8123 Family, Toni Baldwin
I've been a fan of The Maine since I was in 6th grade. Listening to tracks on MySpace before I was even old enough. Growing up in Nashville, and being a young black girl who loved all things country, guitar, and rock, I knew I was different. I started embracing that more and more through middle school. Finding the "scene" crowd, listening to things that weren't considered "black enough" by my white classmates. Fast forward, I'm now a musician with my own platform and I see so many larger artists not speaking out for fear of backlash, losing fans, messing up their image.
When I was in high school, the verdict for the George Zimmerman murder trial was announced: not guilty. I posted my frustration on Facebook. A middle school “friend” that I considered a good friend messaged me and asked why I was so angry and said that it was justified. I asked him “would you shoot me if I was walking in your neighborhood in a hoodie at night?” His response was, “yes if I didn’t know who you were and you didn’t respond to me.” I was shocked. Taken aback and for the first time in my life, truly reminded that my skin color mattered to people. That my skin color meant that if I wore a hoodie, I had to answer to someone else because they were scared. I immediately ended my friendship with this person both digitally and in real life.
Fast forward, this person now works in the same industry that I do, music, and is successful pop artist in LA . He popped up on my Instagram as a person I would be interested in following. I always support friends from my past and their endeavors. I had forgotten all about the encounter because so much racism happens to me on a daily basis because of being in the entertainment industry that it’s hard to remember each and every instance. It wasn’t until after I had somewhat reconnected with this person and I started cleaning out my Facebook messenger inbox that I found the messages and remembered immediately WHY I was no longer friends with them. This experience has always stuck with me. I’ve had people tell me they don’t see color, they don’t understand racism, they don’t understand the anger. Until you live through what I have, comments like this among HUNDREDS of others, please do not tell me how to feel about how *I* am treated. But instead, learn how you can be empathetic and treat people. This person likely does not remember what he said to me nor understand the weight of the words that he said. He will never face the same obstacles that I will in life because of his skin color. This is just a SMALL taste of something that I deal with every day. Maybe this will provide some tiny insight into why people are angry. Why people are upset.
That story is important because the person that caused that much turmoil to me, introduced me to The Maine’s music. Introduced me to an online family that accepted me. That didn't care that I listened to emo rock in 6th grade and was black. This little family just cared that I liked The Maine. You all have been such a massive part of my life. The best way that you can use your platform is to let your ethnic fans know that you hear them, you acknowledge them, and that you are there for them.
-Toni Baldwin