why antiracism work is important to me
a note from Michelle Dorrance
In my generation, to be a tap dancer is to be an ambassador to the world for the unsung history of a Black art form. Taught, encouraged, and inspired by our elders to be more than dancer/musician-performers, my generation strives to be educators, creators, innovators, preservationists, and historians. It is our job to tell the history of tap dance as a celebration of Black culture and also the never-ending struggle against systemic racism and white supremacy in this country - the origin story of appropriation in American culture.
In 2020, I am a part of the way this story plays out. I am a white tap dancer with Black cultural ancestors in a society that privileges white people and whiteness. I am easy for white audiences wanting to access and experience elements of Black culture to swallow. My whiteness is the reason you may have heard of me before two of my inspirations, Ayodele Casel and Dormeshia, not to mention the legendary inspiration, elder, and griot, Dianne Walker. It is imperative for me, and those who look like me, to acknowledge that. It is imperative for us to fight against racist norms that have defined American culture since its very origin. If we do not do enough, this story will not change.
I am incredibly blessed to be of my generation of tap dancers and to have learned from so many of our elders, the last hoofers of the jazz era, before they passed away. I’m also blessed to know our living masters of tap dance, some of the most extraordinary tap dancers that have ever lived. And not only am I blessed, I am privileged. It was my privilege to have had the support of my family and the access to pursue a unique and powerful interdisciplinary college education at the Gallatin School of Individualized Study at NYU. I had the tremendous privilege to deeply pursue Black history in America along with my passion for revolutionary thought. It was my privilege to investigate American “democratic” thought, learn the unconscionable history of American racial ideology, be inspired by Black social/political movements, delve into American literature and European philosophy, and then, very profoundly, to be invited by my advisor, Laurin Raiken to engage with his work on art and social change. This was the same year we marched in the streets for justice for Amadou Diallo and against police brutality. I was 19. Amadou Diallo was 23. At the time, I believed that outside of a full-scale revolution, the only way I could make an impact was as a civil rights lawyer, a full-time activist or both- but the experience of uniting my passions changed that, empowered my growth as an artist, and encouraged my understanding of tap dance as both a tradition born of subversion/revolution/protest and a powerful vehicle for social and political change. My journey with this work began twenty years ago, and twenty years later, I have not done enough.
It is from this place of white privilege that I invite you to join me in lifelong antiracism work. Understanding how deeply embedded white supremacy, racism, and colonialism is in our culture is paramount to understanding our role (as white people) in perpetuating it, and embracing our job to dismantle it. That understanding is incredibly important to me as a human being and to me as a tap dancer. The resources here are a place to start.