Everyone involved in What The Float is horrified and outraged by the murders of Breonna Taylor, George Floyd at the hands of the police. Their deaths are part of a pattern of white supremacist violence that has claimed the lives of Ahmaud Arbery, Eric Garner, Trayvon Martin, Emmett Till, and countless more black people throughout this country’s long sordid history. This has been happening for hundreds of years, and it is not an outlier or an aberration - it has been baked into our society from the beginning.

I have long avoided making political statements on this platform, because this is, ultimately, just a dance party, and if you are getting your politics from a dance party, you probably need to invest more time and energy into educating yourself. I am not in any way qualified to speak on this subject, I do not wish to pretend to expertise in the daily trauma of being black in this country. The Black Lives Matter website is a much better place to start. I am writing this not because you reading this need to hear what I have to say or that I have any original thoughts to add to this conversation. I am writing this, because every person of color who has worked on Float or attended Float or been swept up in the wave along the way one summer night - deserves to hear the full-throated support of Float, of me, and of the entire community, openly and unambiguously. In a time when when injustice happens to friends, family, and strangers, we see you and we stand with you; black lives matter. This statement should have been here much sooner, and I am sure could be more effective and better informed. I apologize for all those failings. I did not think anyone wanted to hear what a random dance party had to say about racism, but this community is full of people who care passionately, and it should reflect them; it should reflect you.

Our audience is majority white, but the music and the movement of Float are deeply indebted to black artists and black culture. Every night we take group of dancers exploring New York, Los Angeles, or another city, we are taking advantage of white privilege. Every time we have an uneventful interaction with police, it is white privilege that invisibly smoothes the way. I am grateful that I get to share the shield of our privilege in this small way with our participants of color, but I hate that I have to make sure, for safety, I reach any police we encounter before they do. White privilege - my privilege - benefits me, and Float, in myriad ways - some I am aware of, some I have never had to examine. Our community should be an environment in which EVERYONE feels welcome and safe and heard. Black lives matter to this community, and there is no need to be subtle about it. This statement exists because this community agitated for it. I hope you will all continue to hold feet to the fire, mine and anyone else’s who needs it.

Float does not have a large audience, but I want to make it clear to everyone who reads this that we are wholly against white supremacy in every form, whether it be overt or covert, systemic or individual. We stand with Black Lives Matter, with protestors, with the victims of police brutality and racist policing. I do not expect this to come as any great surprise to our audience, but if this is startling to you, feel free to reach out to ask for more resources to learn more about what is happening in this country and what you should be outraged about.

If you share this common sense with us, we cannot tell you how best to channel that righteous outrage. We are, ultimately, just a dance party, and we defer to the expertise of BLM, Reclaim The Block, and other organizations that have been doing the work and will continue to do the work, until it is done. Please, listen to them, not us. While huge swaths of the population are unemployed, our events are free: we aren’t going to force you to give your money somewhere more productive, but we hope you will anyway, particularly if, you do have income coming in. What The Float, obviously, has no money presently, but I am redirecting what money I personally have to spare to the Black Visions Collective. This is a list of some more good options for your money. If you do not have money to spare, here are some other ways to contribute.

Thank you for reading, and please do not forget this outrage.

Nicko Libowitz

Founder

What The Float

nicko@whatthefloat.com