@AskAPoC is fighting racial stereotypes one question at a time – SCREENSHOT Media

@AskAPoC is fighting racial stereotypes one question at a time

By Tahmina Begum

Updated May 19, 2020 at 01:57 PM

Reading time: 3 minutes

Shakerah Penfold has created something I haven’t seen before. As the uncertainty of our times is caused by a myriad of factors—be it unprecedented Brexit proceedings, politicians showing their prejudice across national TV or the rise of hate crime towards minorities—this hostile air can make communities feel polarised and divided. The @AskAPoC Instagram account is a space on the internet where that gap shrinks. This account is where you can ask a question regarding race or stereotypes and be answered by Penfold and the @AskAPoC community. And all it costs is one British pound.

Screen Shot magazine sat down with Penfold to discuss how in an era of being either ‘cancelled’ or ‘woke’, asking unfiltered questions works.

On a daily basis, Penfold works performs a charitable service by pairing vulnerable people with volunteer opportunities. The founder of @AskAPoC describes herself as not having a penchant for long walks on the beach, but one for dismantling racial stereotypes and “fighting the patriarchy before breakfast”. A southerner “lost up North”, Penfold was inspired to create @AskAPoC when she saw a @trueblacksoul post asking white people to ask a question that they have always wanted to know the answer to. Realising this could be a regular conversation and somewhere she could direct people in her workplace (especially when they asked her 21 questions about her hair), @AskAPoC was born.

“So it’s a pretty basic concept whereby curious people can send a question anonymously to the page and it’s answered by myself, and/or the community that the question is aimed at,” explains Penfold. Those who want to ask a question, have to first donate to the charity founded among Penfold and her friends called Food For Thought SL. The money from platforms such as @AskAPoC goes to building sustainable development projects in a village called Robuya in Sierra Leone. After the money is donated, you can then direct message the account and Penfold will share the question and her answer and then give it up to the floor (the @AskAPoC Instagram community) to chime in as well.

Though the questions are largely asked by white women and answered largely by women of colour, the audience for @AskAPoC is diverse, and Penfold and her team don’t know what the race of the quizzers are unless their question reveals it. Was she afraid of creating an echo chamber with her views front and centre? “I wish!” says Penfold over email—I can almost hear her passion over Gmail. “The page is called @AskAPoc, meaning that only people of colour need to answer. However, we still get a LOT of non-people of colour answering and taking up space so there are no chances of an echo chamber.”

With accounts such as @AskAPoC, it’s important to remember that people of colour as a whole are not a monolithic group. Even the phrase ‘people of colour’ is debated on widely, as it implies that white people make the norm and everyone else the are ‘others’. “In fairness, even without that input, people of colour are all raised in different societies and cultures so there’s always conflicting answers. I say go with whichever answer feels right to you,” adds Penfold.

Having experienced racism in the past, and having had to explain why macro and microaggressions are not acceptable for Z, Y, and X reasons, I know the emotional toll racism can take first hand. Therefore, discovering @AskAPoC, I initially thought it’s only fair that the minimum should be to donate to a charity first. But then I thought, why is it always the work of women of colour, and especially black women, to undo ignorance? The intellectual, social, and mostly emotional labour Penfold and her community do regularly is not a small task, especially as the @AskAPoC community grows.

“Sometimes it feels emotionally draining, especially when non-people of colour are in the comments trying to justify or push their own agenda,” says Penfold when I ask if this all feels too heavy to carry. The founder also mentions how yes, there are frequently asked questions that are disheartening such as “Why can’t I wear my hair in braids?” and “Why can’t I say the N-word?”. “However, it’s always balanced when I get emails saying how much someone loves the page and how much they have learned from it”. What Penfold really teaches through @AskAPoC is to spot the intention behind a question. Not all of us live in cosmopolitan cities nor do we all have the same experiences; therefore, being considerate within the @AskAPoC community is imperative, and it works both ways.
It’s also a space to understand how valid black and brown reactions are regardless of the intent.

I don’t believe that people of colour can undo a systemically racist system that continues to undervalue us by the spreading of information only, especially if those stories fall on defensive and deaf ears. Nor do I think we should expect that this is a task for people of colour to undertake on their own.  However, what accounts such as @AskAPoC do is allow an open conversation to take place, and, essentially, share hope in what can feel like dire times.

Though black and brown bodies and minds have every reason to be angry at the mistreatment of their communities, their marginalisation also tends to evoke profound compassion, knowing what it’s like to be pushed aside. It’s this empathy that has taught Penfold and her community so much about humanity. “People are so willing to be educated and people like to help others learn. I think that’s beautiful, especially in the world we live in. I love how a community of people of colour who may have faced so much ignorance in their lives have not hardened their hand, but draw on those experiences to try and stop it happening to their fellow sister or brother.”

Keep On Reading

By Charlie Sawyer

Gwyneth Paltrow puts lavish guesthouse on Airbnb. Here’s everything you need to know

By Mason Berlinka

Watch viral video of a woman having a meltdown on a flight over a passenger not being real

By Jennifer Raymont

From state of the art to uncreative snooze-fest, has Chanel entered its flop era?

By Fatou Ferraro Mboup

Transgender woman wins Miss Netherlands for the first time and will be heading to Miss Universe

By Charlie Sawyer

My chat with stand-up comedian Stef Dag, the Hot & Single host getting people laid in NYC

By Louis Shankar

AIR, BlackBerry, Tetris: What’s with our current fascination with elaborate company origin stories?

By Mason Berlinka

New Discord update will force all users to change usernames. Here’s why

By Jennifer Raymont

15 jorts you’ll need to channel your inner Adam Sandler this summer

By Jennifer Raymont

Buy now, pay later services like Klarna and Clearpay see decline among gen Zers

By Charlie Sawyer

Taylor Swift and Matty Healy split: Let’s give a round of applause to the worst PR move ever

By Charlie Sawyer

Software engineers scam Reddit users with AI-generated nudes in new social experiment

By Jennifer Raymont

Barely-there bikinis and timeless one-pieces: Grab these 10 must-have swimsuits for this summer

By Louis Shankar

From his Daily Mail column to mayoral election rumours, we haven’t seen the last of Boris Johnson

By Fatou Ferraro Mboup

Watch the new steamy trailer for Luca Guadagnino and Zendaya’s upcoming film Challengers

By Jennifer Raymont

Carnaby Street’s best dressed: 5 Londoners on their fashion inspo and biggest style faux pas

By Mason Berlinka

Who is TikToker Nekoglai? The Moldovan streamer tortured by Russia paying tribute to Ukrainian soldiers

By Fatou Ferraro Mboup

Why are celebrities now choosing to expose their toxic partners online?

By Charlie Sawyer

Croatia’s 2023 Eurovision song proves political messages are unavoidable in the song contest

By Fatou Ferraro Mboup

Understanding the Carla Foster case and how it might impact abortion rulings in the UK

By Alma Fabiani

Blob mirror DIY tutorial and 5 other funky mirrors you’ll need this Spring 2023