Questlove Speaks Out Against 'Black Erasure' In New AP African-American Studies Guidelines

December 09, 2009

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Questlove has spoken out against the removal of African-American works of literature around the country and is calling for people to stand up.

On Thursday (February 2), The Roots member took to Instagram with a public service announcement regarding the widespread ban of several Black authors and their works of literature in Florida due to a new state law.

According to Questlove, the Black community needs to be more aware than ever because there’s a bigger war being fought over the culture. In his post, he included a picture of the names of Black authors and thinkers crossed out in a list titled “AP African American Studies 2023.” Among the names are Amiri Baraka, Alice Walker, James Cone and Melefi Kete Asante.

“For all of you kind folk who praised @SummerOfSoulMovie this is the exact kind of erasure that makes black erasure so easy to do,” Quest love began. “It starts slow and benign….and before you know it—-it spreads and spreads & we ignore or hope it will fall on someone else’s hand to come with a solution. Then it’s too late. This is why local elections are important. This is why you can’t sleep for even a micro minute until the job is done.

He added: “I know we exhausted. I know for every 4 steps forward we wind up 3.9 steps backwards. I know we aren’t in love with our options. I also know that a lot of us are ignoring the call to be the change we want to see (I’m guilty af w this one——I’m Mr “well SOMEBODY NEEDS TO DO SOMETHING!!!! Hello!!!!????” all day & 99% of the time I gotta set wheels in motion for the things I want out of life)——but it starts with acknowledging how serious this is.

“If this is what is happening in Florida….what will happen when he runs for president? Don’t wanna start the morning fear mongering but these are different times we living in. You can’t sleep for a second.”

 

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Florida governor Ron DeSantis passed a law earlier this month that required books to be pre-approved for classroom libraries. This has resulted in several works of literature being added to the banned list, and the new law has brought nothing but controversy as photos of classrooms with empty libraries have gone viral.

Questlove used the idea of Black Erasure as a focal point of his Summer Of Soul documentary that chronicles the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival with never-before-seen footage that had been unearthed after 50 years of sitting in a basement.

Dubbed the “Black Woodstock,” the footage features musical legends among the likes of Stevie Wonder, the Staples Singers, B.B. King, Nina Simone and Sly and the Family Stone.

The documentary won both the audience and grand jury prize in the U.S. documentary section at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival – a feat Quest was expectedly quite proud of.

“OOOOMMMGGGGHGGG WE DID IT,” he tweeted upon learning the news. Quest also won an Oscar and a Grammy for the documentary.

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