I grew up in the DC area but didn’t move to the city until around 1999, so I most definitely missed the glory days of DC #hardcore. Looking back at books like Banned In DC, I was always confused about why I was always the only black kid at shows (or maybe one of two) when it seemed like the DC scene of the 80s was pretty diverse. Since everyone already knows about Bad Brains, I focused on lesser known #BlackPunks from DC like Shawn Brown (Dag Nasty, Swiz) and Bubba Dupree (Void). This is from issue 5 of #ShotgunSeamstress. #punk #zines

I grew up in the DC area but didn’t move to the city until around 1999, so I most definitely missed the glory days of DC #hardcore. Looking back at books like Banned In DC, I was always confused about why I was always the only black kid at shows (or maybe one of two) when it seemed like the DC scene of the 80s was pretty diverse. Since everyone already knows about Bad Brains, I focused on lesser known #BlackPunks from DC like Shawn Brown (Dag Nasty, Swiz) and Bubba Dupree (Void). This is from issue 5 of #ShotgunSeamstress. #punk #zines

Sure, music is for everyone, but it’s important to hear what Black people think and feel about music made by other Black people. I published this article, written by Sean Padilla, about the band DEATH in issue 5 of #ShotgunSeamstress shortly after their docu and reissued LP came out. We’ve known that Black folks invented rock’n roll but the discovery of DEATH taught us that we were #punk innovators, too. #zine #zines#BlackArt #BlackMastodon #BlackFedi

Sure, music is for everyone, but it’s important to hear what Black people think and feel about music made by other Black people. I published this article, written by Sean Padilla, about the band DEATH in issue 5 of #ShotgunSeamstress shortly after their docu and reissued LP came out. We’ve known that Black folks invented rock’n roll but the discovery of DEATH taught us that we were #punk innovators, too. #zine #zines#BlackArt #BlackMastodon #BlackFedi

“Black Weirdos” from the first issue of #ShotgunSeamstress zine (2006) featuring #FlorynceKennedy and #SunRa.

20 years ago it felt necessary to assert our right as Black people to express ourselves freely without our racial identity being called into question. (In other words, other Black people might say you were “acting white” if you exhibited any behaviors outside of what was considered the norm for Black people, including listening to rock music.)

While so many social issues remain the same or have even worsened since then, I’m glad to say that I’ve seen improvement in this area over the last couple of decades. If you dare to call a Black punk rock, book smart, awkward, nerdy anime loving gamer “white” you just look like an ignorant dumbass at this point.

#zines#BlackPunk #BlackLiberation #BlackFedi#DontCallMeWhite#Xerox #photocopy#CutAndPaste

“Black Weirdos” from the first issue of #ShotgunSeamstress zine (2006) featuring #FlorynceKennedy and #SunRa.

20 years ago it felt necessary to assert our right as Black people to express ourselves freely without our racial identity being called into question. (In other words, other Black people might say you were “acting white” if you exhibited any behaviors outside of what was considered the norm for Black people, including listening to rock music.)

While so many social issues remain the same or have even worsened since then, I’m glad to say that I’ve seen improvement in this area over the last couple of decades. If you dare to call a Black punk rock, book smart, awkward, nerdy anime loving gamer “white” you just look like an ignorant dumbass at this point.

#zines#BlackPunk #BlackLiberation #BlackFedi#DontCallMeWhite#Xerox #photocopy#CutAndPaste

My friend in #Asheville, NC sent me a photo of my book at Firestorm Books. Happy to see #JamesSpooner’s book, High Desert, right below. It’s a comic about growing up a #biracial #punk in Southern California.

At the zine event I just did, people in the audience had heard of the #AfroPunk festival but never heard of the DIY #documentary that it was named for. Spooner drove around the country back in the early 2000s interviewing #BlackPunk rockers who, at the time, were racially isolated in their respective scenes. This movie changed the entire landscape for everyone but especially Black kids in the punk scene, giving a voice to our various experiences. You can find the video online for free, I believe.

#ShotgunSeamstress #zines#ZineAnthology #independentbooksellers#IndependentBookshop @firestorm

My friend in #Asheville, NC sent me a photo of my book at Firestorm Books. Happy to see #JamesSpooner’s book, High Desert, right below. It’s a comic about growing up a #biracial #punk in Southern California.

At the zine event I just did, people in the audience had heard of the #AfroPunk festival but never heard of the DIY #documentary that it was named for. Spooner drove around the country back in the early 2000s interviewing #BlackPunk rockers who, at the time, were racially isolated in their respective scenes. This movie changed the entire landscape for everyone but especially Black kids in the punk scene, giving a voice to our various experiences. You can find the video online for free, I believe.

#ShotgunSeamstress #zines#ZineAnthology #independentbooksellers#IndependentBookshop @firestorm