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Current State Of Mind

It’s been over six months since I wrote a newsletter. I’ve thought about it many times, there have been many distractions, lots of travel, and projects in general.

I knew I would come back to this newsletter, and now feels like the right time because I’ve had a lot of thoughts, feelings, and conversations sitting on my soul, and they are definitely spilling out now.

It’s a long newsletter, so you may want to make yourself comfortable.

Nerdy note: Depending on your flow and how your brain works you can use a cool app called Reader to import emails or links like this and have the app use AI to read it out to you if that’s more your jam.

Preface: I’m not calling out any particular event, organizer, or group. There are my reflective thoughts based on my lived experience from the moment I realized I was Black and the history that carried with it into present day intentionally becoming a fan of Black excellence, education, and intellectualism.

For centuries, the exploitation of Black talent, labor, and excellence has been a cornerstone of oppressive systems.

From the colonial-era scramble for Africa, where European powers divided the continent to plunder its abundant natural resources, to the transatlantic slave trade, where African labor & resources were forcibly extracted to build wealth for others, this pattern has persisted across generations.

Today, we see its echoes in the prison industrial complex, where modern-day slavery and the school to prison pipeline thrives, and in predatory contracts targeting Black athletes, entertainers, intellectuals and creatives—contracts that strip away the rights and ownership of our intellectual property and exploit the very people whose work creates such immense value.

The 13th Amendment, while abolishing slavery, includes an exception that permits involuntary servitude as punishment for a crime. This loophole has had lasting implications of mass incarceration for Black men in the United States. I highly recommend watching “The 13th Amendment” documentary. It’s free on Youtube.

Black men have long faced and continue to endure the harshest sentencing in legal systems, often over petty crimes, with laws and policies that prioritize legality over morality.

I feel that negative stereotypes of Black men perpetuated by the media spill over into day-to-day interactions, leading to constant scrutiny and a lack of trust in interpersonal relationships. As a result, Black men often feel undervalued or unjustly judged, unfairly perceived as threats to the safety of others.

This double standard is especially stark: while Black men are glorified for our contributions to sports, music, comedy, and physical excellence and attributes, we are simultaneously scrutinized and devalued in daily life when we are not providing access to our excellence in these ways.

As a Black dance instructor, educator, artist, organizer, & creative, it seems I’m finding myself navigating these same systems of exploitation, albeit in different forms.

These new "chains and whips of the past" have evolved into tools like predatory contracts, laws, policies, etc. designed to silence and sideline Black voices and bar Black ownership.

Over the past decade, I have poured my heart, sweat, and vision into amplifying Urban Kiz and highlighting the cultural legacy of Kizomba rooted in the African diaspora and the connection to Black American culture through R&B & Hip-Hop and how Urbankiz is a bridge.

These are not just art forms of music and dance—they are reflections of resilience, artistry, and history. They are voices that tell the stories of struggle and triumph, and I have worked tirelessly to ensure those stories are heard as well as afford my livelihood paying my rent and bills.

When opportunities arise that claim to further this vision, are they these same patterns of exploitation at play?

It can feel easier to stay silent, to compromise, or to go along with systems that don’t respect your voice, especially with next month's rent looming over your head. But we know where that road leads: it perpetuates the very cycles of exploitation that have stolen from our ancestors and continue to undermine Black voices today.

When should I chose to walk away from opportunities that lack integrity and transparency, knowing that doing so will cost me financially in the short term but would preserve the core values that guide my work.

These experiences are reminders that exploitation does not have to be overt to be harmful. It can come disguised as opportunities or partnerships that ask us to trade our labor and vision for small percentages while others reap the rewards.

For Black creatives, educators, and leaders, it’s especially critical to remain vigilant, to ask hard questions, and to demand the respect, earnings, and credit we deserve.

We must also recognize that these struggles are not just personal—they are systemic. The ongoing conversations in the Black community, especially in the wake of political events like the recent election, reinforce the urgency of standing firm.

We are witnessing the fragility of progress and the persistence of systems designed to exploit us, yet we also have the power to resist, to speak out, and to demand better.

We carry the legacies of those who came before us, who fought to make space for us in a world determined to diminish our light and silence our voices.

Let us honor them by refusing to settle for anything less than what we are worth. Do not allow yourselves to be silenced. If something doesn’t feel right, trust your instincts. Speak out. Seek accountability, ask questions and seek the truth. And above all, remain rooted in the values that guide your work.

I refuse to just “shut up and dance endlessly for others entertainment”.

This is not just about preserving our integrity—it’s about breaking the chains of exploitation, in whatever form they appear, and creating a future where Black excellence, talent, and labor are celebrated and respected, not exploited.

As I reflect on this journey, I realize it has also revealed deeper questions for myself and for our community. For me personally, this experience challenges me to examine how I navigate relationships and opportunities brought to me as a key Black person of influence in the dance scene.

How do I differentiate between those who truly value my work and those who see me as a token to serve their agenda or “Black quota”?

How can I distinguish between lip service—flattering compliments meant to placate—and genuine action rooted in shared values and integrity?

This is not easy work. It takes time and discernment to look beyond what people say to see what they truly embody through their actions.

Are they committed to amplifying Black voices, or are they simply using them?

Are they invested in creating spaces where Black creatives thrive, or are they exploiting our excellence for their own gain?

These are questions I must ask not only of others but also of myself as I evaluate who I partner with and what I align myself to.

Zooming out, the challenge is even greater: how do we shift the paradigm so that Black intellectuals, creatives, and entertainers are no longer just hired labor or tokens on a lineup?

How do we ensure that we are not just participants in vehicles of wealth and value but also owners of them?

This is one reason I’ve been so passionate about learning to code and building WhereCanWeDance, as it is one of our most powerful levers of scale and wealth in our modern society.

Too often, we are invited to the table but not given a seat of power. We need to move beyond being contributors to becoming decision-makers, architects, and true stakeholders in these spaces.

This requires us to demand more—not just of the systems we navigate but also of ourselves.

It means questioning if tokenism is at play in all its forms, calling out performative allyship, and insisting on meaningful representation that includes ownership, leadership, and equity.

It also means building networks of trust within our community, where we support and uplift one another in ways that ensure long-term growth and sustainability.

I invite my fellow Black creatives to reflect on these questions with me:

- How do we evaluate who we collaborate with?

- How do we hold ourselves and others accountable to the values we claim to uphold?

- How do we help educate and empower ourselves and others to learn what real and effective allyship is?

- And how do we create systems where Black excellence is not exploited but empowered, celebrated, and given the resources to thrive?

In the words of Luvvie Ajayi Jones (a 4-time New York Times bestselling author, speaker and podcast host who thrives at the intersection of culture, business and leadership) in her recent email newsletter:

“Yeah… our country tis of thee. Sweet land of liability. Broken hearts, clear eyes.

Here's one thing: I'm not absorbing the message of not being enough. It's not mine to take in. It's like when somebody calls you stupid, but you know you're the smartest person in the building. You take note and move accordingly. 💪🏾

This election has left us with broken hearts but clear eyes. We see the truth. We know the truth. We've always known the truth, but we dare to still hope, and that in itself is a form of strength. As a Black woman in this moment, I feel shaken but not broken. Because this country will not steal our joy, try as it may. 🌟

And for us to be continuously reminded about how much the United States of America does not value us? We still move, chin up. However, the body keeps the score while the soul bears the scars.

Black women, Black people. I see us. I SEE US and have so much tenderness for us. At the same time, I am reminded that when you are forged by fire, it doesn't burn you any longer. When we let the world burn, we will walk through it. We won't be completely unscathed, but we will fare better than most because we have been tried and tested under so much denigration.

Folks have had their feet on our necks for centuries. In what’s to come, we might even thrive because this is familiar. We are ancestrally prepared for such a time as this. 🔥

Besides resting for whatever battles are ahead, the other thing we need to be doing is stacking our coins. Economic power determines our ability to resist. This isn't just about prosperity. This isn't just about success. This is about survival in its most fundamental form.

We cannot fight for justice when we're fighting to keep our lights on. We cannot fund movements while dodging bill collectors. We cannot protect voting rights when we're working three jobs to make rent. We cannot sustain resistance when our bank accounts are empty. 🙅🏾

That’s why I’m lifting up the work of the brilliant Chloe Hakim-Moore (who has built 2 eight-figure businesses - $10 million+), because we need to know how to build sustainable businesses that can help us create generational wealth without sacrificing our lives and well-being. The GOAL is to build businesses and wealth, but to do it without burnout. Amen? Cause we need to protect our rest, our integrity, and our peace as we grow. 💪🏾

So sign up for the ENTREPRENEUR EXCEL free training, happening November 20 at 7pm ET.”

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I also highly recommend reading Luvvie’s books, I’ve read “The Professional Troublemaker” and it’s a great read!

To close out this rant/reflection:

This journey has been difficult because we also need to keep food on our tables and a roof over our heads.

The importance of standing firm, asking hard questions, and refusing to settle for anything less than respect, transparency, and integrity is critical.

As we move forward, I am committed learning how to ensure that my work not only amplifies Black voices better but also helps build a future where we are not just low-level parts of the system but its leaders, visionaries, equity holders, and rightful owners.

Thanks for opening another newsletter! Have a great week!

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Song I'm Currently Jamming To

I was recently put on to Doechii, this song has been on repeat for the past week. Really impressed with the melodic elements and lyrics of Black Girl Memoir.

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Recent Content

I haven’t emailed you all since March so there’s been lots of content since. I will skip this section this week due to the length of the current state of mind section in this newsletter.

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Photo of the Week

A photo with one of my realest friends Vanessa Yxcea during a trip in a garden in Dallas where we had a impromptu maternity photoshoot for her.

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Dance Meme of the Week

None this week.

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Cool Video I'm Watching

• A Youtube video sharing some pieces how Europe developed a plan to opportunistically take Africa’s resources and wealth divide among European countries.
• A Youtube video of Dave Chapelle referencing the exploitation of predatory contracts.
• IG reel talking about the importance of Black athletes being valued of Black intellectualism.
• IG reel of Dr. Raquel Martin on a rant of the dehumanizing stereotypes of black men.
• IG reel on thoughts around decolonization, diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice centered on whiteness.

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Question Of the Week

I posed A LOT of questions above, so I won’t add more today in this newsletter.

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Answer of the Week

None this week.

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Past Newsletters

You can view past newsletters here.

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‍Dope Dance Resources

• A cool project to create a global directory of dance events for dancers, artists, and organizers!
• A tool for artists and organizers to streamline their booking process with artist booking portals!
• Find out how you can thrive at your next dance event with the Ultimate Dance Event Survival Kit.
• Find out how you can organize your dance journey with the Dancer’s Training Journal 1.0.
• Level up your kiz online with Mr. Neokiz!
• Learn more about the Ultimate Musicality Course For Dancers to level up your musicality!
• Get the 16-count phrase mapping worksheet download for free!
• Join me at my urbankiz festival in Austin, July 18-22, 2024!
• The WhereCanWeDance.com Podcast - Check out my dance podcast!
• Check out my Amazon storefront to catch all the gear I use to do everything I do in the dance world!

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Thanks for reading!

Thoughts and feedback on the newsletter or on anything covered within are always welcome, just hit reply. The thing I love most about writing this newsletter is follow-up interactions with readers.

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Feel free to forward this to other friends in your circle!

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Charles

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