When Is It Okay to Be Black?
This isn't a post about Black Pride but more so of permission to be who I am, black. The stereotypes and bias' towards people of color are real and until there is the recognition that this happens, we will continue to perpetuate the sense of not belonging. This is a daily struggle for myself along with many other people of color who wake up every day trying to figure out how to be themselves. My appearance and my ancestry give me my 'blackness' but in the manner that I live is not considered being 'black'. From the way I may talk to things I enjoy in life, there can be a separation of what is determined to be black. So how does someone determine if I'm black or if I'm acting so-called white?
The story of inner-city black male: comes from a fatherless home, mother working to take care of the family (or the addict parents), welfare recipient, either you play sports or sell drugs, graduating high school is a dream, attending college is merely a dream, have a child in your teens, and the infamous incarceration. You know the same story. Better yet, it is the one story that has been perpetuated. It makes me think that there is a checklist that we must abide by to get our so-called hood card. When you decide to wear khaki pants, polo shirts, and boat shoes over the new trend with the Jordan's or Yeezy's plus whatever 'gear' that is in, then you are considered on the outside (better be sure to have your approved uniform). So those who live outside of this circle, are they not black enough?
I have heard the saying, 'do it for the culture' repeatedly stated. Merriam-Webster defines culture as the characteristic features of everyday existence (such as diversions or a way of life) shared by people in a place or time. My idea of doing it for the culture was to put on like everyone else, fall in line and conform to the cool. Doing things for the culture. But after some thought, doing it for the culture took on a different meaning to me. My ancestors lost their lives and advanced their people to one day not be the property of others nor be the illiterate population that we were once conditioned to. Doing it for the culture for me is to expand the boundaries of comfort and giving life to the mere idea of living limitless. The culture is much bigger than conformity. It is about trailblazing and giving others the permission to do what others had always thought was weird, different. So every day I do it for the culture!
In my journeys since leaving the United States in the fall of 2014, there has been one thing consistent. No matter where I go in this world as I am black. I take a sense 0f pride in that fact. I take pride because I get to be an ambassador for my culture. My mindset is that I may be the first black person or American that this person has met; that comes with great expectation. My goal is that they walk away with a different narrative that has been portrayed in the media and entertainment. I have the opportunity to change the minds and maybe even the hearts of those who had preconceived notions of blacks.
As a people, we must understand that we do not have the right to determine if someone is black enough for the culture to accept them. Through inheritance, I have culture and that can't be denied. You nor I get to determine what the guidelines of blackness but we do have a responsibility in caring it forward. It is our job to understand that within the culture, there is a variety that allows for individuals to be unique without the fear of not being like everyone else. Those who step out to show who they are can unlock the chains on others that give them permission to do them.
So when is it okay to be Black? Every DAMN day of my life. I love being black, that will never change.
*Post was originally started April 2019
The story of inner-city black male: comes from a fatherless home, mother working to take care of the family (or the addict parents), welfare recipient, either you play sports or sell drugs, graduating high school is a dream, attending college is merely a dream, have a child in your teens, and the infamous incarceration. You know the same story. Better yet, it is the one story that has been perpetuated. It makes me think that there is a checklist that we must abide by to get our so-called hood card. When you decide to wear khaki pants, polo shirts, and boat shoes over the new trend with the Jordan's or Yeezy's plus whatever 'gear' that is in, then you are considered on the outside (better be sure to have your approved uniform). So those who live outside of this circle, are they not black enough?
I have heard the saying, 'do it for the culture' repeatedly stated. Merriam-Webster defines culture as the characteristic features of everyday existence (such as diversions or a way of life) shared by people in a place or time. My idea of doing it for the culture was to put on like everyone else, fall in line and conform to the cool. Doing things for the culture. But after some thought, doing it for the culture took on a different meaning to me. My ancestors lost their lives and advanced their people to one day not be the property of others nor be the illiterate population that we were once conditioned to. Doing it for the culture for me is to expand the boundaries of comfort and giving life to the mere idea of living limitless. The culture is much bigger than conformity. It is about trailblazing and giving others the permission to do what others had always thought was weird, different. So every day I do it for the culture!
In my journeys since leaving the United States in the fall of 2014, there has been one thing consistent. No matter where I go in this world as I am black. I take a sense 0f pride in that fact. I take pride because I get to be an ambassador for my culture. My mindset is that I may be the first black person or American that this person has met; that comes with great expectation. My goal is that they walk away with a different narrative that has been portrayed in the media and entertainment. I have the opportunity to change the minds and maybe even the hearts of those who had preconceived notions of blacks.
As a people, we must understand that we do not have the right to determine if someone is black enough for the culture to accept them. Through inheritance, I have culture and that can't be denied. You nor I get to determine what the guidelines of blackness but we do have a responsibility in caring it forward. It is our job to understand that within the culture, there is a variety that allows for individuals to be unique without the fear of not being like everyone else. Those who step out to show who they are can unlock the chains on others that give them permission to do them.
So when is it okay to be Black? Every DAMN day of my life. I love being black, that will never change.
*Post was originally started April 2019
