Black Lives Matter... Now and Always
An unprecedented movement for racial justice reaches the automotive world with dramatic effect.
In the month since our last newsletter, the Black Lives Matter movement has laid bare the atrocities of racial injustice unaddressed in the United States for centuries. It felt inappropriate to comment on anything else.
The truth is that there will be no “return to normal.” This is an extraordinary moment in history that should set a new standard to bear going forward.
The topics of inequity and representation must be present in every conversation going forward, including within the automotive industry. The following questions must constantly be asked:
Does the audience for this content include Black readers?
Are Black voices being fairly represented and respected?
Are there inequities present that will alienate or exclude Black participants?
What are the barriers that could provide less opportunity to Black people?
Does the topic of this story contribute to the historic and systemic exclusion, displacement or criminalization of Black people?
The answers to each of these questions must create equity for Black and all people of color, or else be addressed and changed immediately.
For instance, what are the barriers preventing drivers of color from reaching the highest levels of motorsport? Why are there so few people of color in virtual sim racing, a low-cost sport? And are the rising prices of new cars disproportionately forcing people of color to take out risky high-interest or long-term loans?
At Race Day, and at Carrara Media, this will be our guiding principle for the forseeable future.
To catch you up to speed, here’s how Black Lives Matter and the automotive world collided over the past four weeks.
Culture
Follow these Black automotive writers and influencers.
Not included on the list is drifter and stunt driver Brionna Lynch. She and her father are hilarious and damn talented.
The pop-up car show AutoConduct is running a phenomenal series on historic Black pioneers in motorsports.
Here’s a car magazine that is donating all proceeds to Black Lives Matter.
Some automotive outlets reacted quickly to issue statements of support. Some of my favorites were from Roadshow and the influencer Jonny Lieberman.
The Millennial-favorite traveling car culture show Radwood took a stand.
The LAPD has a Tesla:
It’s a good reminder that the department purchased 100 electric cars a few years ago and then parked them in a garage except for personal use.
Stunt drivers took over a busy L.A. intersection to do donuts at the height of the BLM marches. They got almost 10 solid minutes of drifting in before it was broken up.
In racing, some of the most prominent Black drivers aligned with the movement early. F1 champion Lewis Hamilton shared a tear-jerking speech by a young girl and NASCAR ace Bubba Wallace sported BLM shirts (above) and liveries.
It soon escalated. Hamilton shared a scathing rebuke of the silence from the F1 community that led to a series of supportive statements. But the fact that he had to ask! Important to note he’s also walking the walk.
Meanwhile, Wallace undoubtedly put pressure on NASCAR to eventually ban the confederate flag at its events:
Acceptance of the new rule was not universal. At all.
Nor was acceptance of BLM in general among NASCAR teams.
Shortly after, a harrowing scene unfolded. NASCAR alerted the authorities to a noose that was found in Wallace’s garage, a horrifying reference to lynchings of Black Americans that shamefully have not yet ended.
The noose ended up being mistaken for a harmless garage pull rope, but not before a unifying moment of support between Wallace and every team on the grid, including a touching moment from team owner Richard “The King” Petty.
A reminder that Petty threatened to fire drivers who kneeled in support of racial equality a few short years ago.
A good way to support Black Lives Matter would be to end traffic stops.
Support this Black woman NASCAR tire-changer and her new apparel.
Lastly, please keep Alex Zanardi in your thoughts. He was gravely injured in a hand-cycling accident last week. He had been an early supporter of Hamilton early on.
Slow Car Fast
Quickly, two updates:
I was thrilled to be interviewed and quoted in this Forbes piece about the Millennial takeover of the collector car market.
A new review of Slow Car Fast is now live on the automotive criticism site SpeedReaders.info. The analysis from Helen Hutchings comes off as very fair to me, and I’m grateful to she and the site for the opportunity.
And Finally…
Okay fine, just one racing video for levity. Drone footage of a high-speed dirt track:
Drive hard and be safe. Black Lives Matter.
Want your event included? Shoot me a note with subject line “Race Day” at ryan@carrarabooks.com.
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