Black Lives Matter to Earpers

To the Earper fandom,

Our community is one that is built upon kindness, love, and acceptance. While normally the arrival of summer would mean that anticipation and excitement over Season 4 of our beloved Wynonna Earp is starting to simmer and boil over, this letter finds us in the middle of some very different circumstances. As much fun and enjoyment as we get out of Wynonna Earp, the current state of the world has warranted a shift in focus towards a much more serious and important matter. Not only has the COVID-19 pandemic had a disproportionate effect on Black communities, but we’ve had to collectively witness the continued killing and mistreatment of Black people in wake of the deaths of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade, George Floyd, and too many more. These ongoing examples of racism and police brutality are unacceptable and downright horrendous.

In the Earper fandom, we have seen firsthand the power of having a voice and a platform to make change happen. While we are a great fandom known for kindness and love towards one another, we also acknowledge that we are a largely white fandom. With the killing of George Floyd on May 25, 2020 in Minneapolis, the conversation around allyship and white privilege has been brought to the forefront, and it’s time to acknowledge that fact here within our own fandom, and do something about it. This is a conversation exponentially larger than our own fandom, but nevertheless, it’s time to examine how Earpers can approach allyship in a way that will be productive and help incite change.

Let’s use Blackout Tuesday as a time for each of us to commit to using our voices to elevate Black voices and continue to show support in any way we can. Earpers have always stood together, worked as one to bring about positive outcomes and change, and this is no different. The time has come for us to stand with Black Earpers and the Black community as we affirm that Black Lives Matter.

One of the focal points of the current inaction in our communities is that white feelings should not be worth more or held in higher value than Black lives. In order to make change happen then it’s up to each and every one of us. We acknowledge the privilege of being a largely white Earper fandom, and that means there is work to be done. White privilege does not mean lives may be easy, but it is a built-in advantage to not have skin color be one of the factors making your life harder. It is time for our fandom to acknowledge such privileges and begin paying the debt with some hard work.

That hard work comes in being strong allies to not only the Black people within our fandom, but in our everyday lives, our workplaces, our communities, and the world at large. We need to do more listening and less talking. Blackout Tuesday is a great place to start, by amplifying the voices of Black Earpers, but also creators, artists, storytellers, and activists. No matter how upset you are with the current situation, being an ally isn’t about being loud and tweeting or posting on social media all of the time. Instead we should all try to lift up the voices of those in our fandom who share a different perspective than our own. Pay attention when they share their opinions and perspective and take what they say to heart. It’s not our job as allies to be saviours. We are needed, but this isn’t about us.

As we all take this time to look inward and reflect on how we can help change the current situation, it’s also a time for learning. It’s time to take responsibility and seek out resources to help educate ourselves. It’s not up to the Black people in our lives or our fandom to educate us. We must all do the work.

We also acknowledge that mistakes will be made along the way as we all try to be better allies. We cannot be afraid of this reality and we cannot let the fear of making mistakes keep us from trying. Never stop trying. Those mistakes may be made, but as Earpers so often do, please keep showing up, giving support, and leading with kindness, compassion, and love. This isn’t only about Blackout Tuesday, this is a process and one that will require us all to learn and keep trying to do better day after day.

If we can keep channeling our outrage and justifiable anger into sustained and effective action then that is when real change can start to happen. We’ve seen firsthand in this fandom the importance of persistence mixed with kindness and love. Now we need to show that we not only support the Black community, but we stand with them and will fight alongside them. And to Black Earpers, we promise to keep loving you, keep listening to you, and keep fighting for you.

For more information on what you can do, please check out the resources below and consider donating to the causes listed.

NOTE: This is in no way affiliated with Wynonna Earp, IDW or NBC Entertainment.