“History Itself Justifies Our Presence”: Stephanie Phillips on the Erasure of Black Voices in Punk and Indie Music

Stephanie Phillips’ We Were Here examines the historical erasure of Black voices and artists from punk and alternative music narratives. Drawing on interviews with figures like Gary Powell (The Libertines) and overlooked anecdotes spanning a century, Phillips documents Black foundational contributions to rock and alternative genres while confronting the persistent questioning of Black participation in spaces coded as white. As a music journalist and co-founder of Black feminist punk band Big Joanie, Phillips interrogates how Black alternative musicians face assumptions they belong elsewhere, challenging the whitewashed historical record of indie and punk as predominantly white movements. The work combines cultural criticism with personal testimony to reclaim Black artistic agency and presence in alternative music culture.

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