When I was a kid I grew up in a predominately white suburban town; Athens, Ohio where the majority of the color came primarily from the college kids that frequented our little city. I didn’t think I was “different” from other Black people, because all I knew was my friends. I don’t even think color really mattered to me, until I moved out of my bubble and got some exposure. I mean, I am blessed everyday for the life that I was born into and the life that I lead, I take pride in the woman I have become and it is all I can do but want to scream when I hear of the stories of us, BLACK PEOPLE breaking each other down. But back to the basics, I didn’t think I was “different” until I moved (forced) to California. My friends, again primarily all white, would make comments like “ You don’t really sound Black,” or “ Keesha, let’s be real, I am Blacker than you.” What does that mean? What makes someone Blacker than someone else. And more importantly where the hell do y’all get that from? HELLO in this country BLACK, is BLACK, is BLACK, is BLACK. Your problems no matter where you are at are still OUR problems. So it frustrates me to think that we still played this fractured game of identity. We are, who we are. To all those who doubt me: MY BLACK IS BEAUTIFUL!! I may not talk like the next Black person, and why would you expect me to? Individuals are individuals, no one person is identical. I don’t “act” like a Black person- or so I have been told.. What’s acting, this right here, IT IS CALLED LIVING!! Damnit, I live Black every day, when eyes are on me questioning my worth, that is BLACK! I do not play the race card because I have a faith in the world that we are better than that, but I am not naïve to think that I have it good. WE as a country, as a world and as one human race have a lot to learn, about ourselves, others and our own culture.
So you might be wondering where is this coming from. My issue is when Black people knit pick against other Black people. It in my opinion continues to show the ignorance of our people. We as a people, across the globe have suffered the most atrocious, disgusting things possible and the only people that get it are the same ones that are dishing shit against each other. Lesson 1: In the U.S there is in my opinion this fractionalization [Yeah I made that one up] between Black Americans and Black everyone else. If you come from Africa ( South Africa, Nigeria, Botswana, Kenya etc) there is this stigma, or can be that you are better than the Black Americans in this country, because the image that is portrayed of us in some countries is not the best image (but it is an image that we still need to embrace because it IS us). So when some Africans arrive, they put themselves outside of the Black American population, only to realize that it doesn’t matter here, you are BLACK as I am BLACK and you have to deal with all that that entails. There is still however a superiority factor despite this awareness, Caribbean folk at the top, African, and then Black Americans (or at least how I have come to see it). Why do we put each other in a hierarchy when I guess to take from the Pan-African viewpoint, we are all one?
Lesson 2: We Black American dish so much crap onto each other, flexin how Black we are compared to another person. And this is the root of my blog today. I have been following Twitter and the news lately (ha that sounded funny, I mean I follow both sources quite frequently) to find this “battle” perpetuated by boxer Bernard Hopkins against Donovan McNabb. Hopkins a loyal Philly Eagles fan has apparently had beef with McNabb for years, calling him an athlete with no heart. I don’t think I mind Hopkins dissing McNabb’s athletic prowess. But I do have to say, McNabb is no longer with the Eagles, so Hopkins—Get over it.. Just saying. But my contention is that Hopkins goes on to say that McNabb isn’t Black enough! WTF!!! What does Black enough mean? This is in the shadow of a Jalen Rose controversy against Grant Hill years ago during the Fab Five fiasco, where Jalen questioned Grant Hill’s upbringing. We are who we are, we have our stories but we are just a different page of Black. It doesn’t mean that one is better than the other. We are still the same people, in the streets or in the office building we still have to overcome a lot of shit and it frustrates me to no end that we can’t seem to see that. And that a man like Bernard Hopkins, Jalen Rose in his own ignorance, and even Jesse Jackson among the other who criticize men like Donovan McNabb, Grant Hill and Barack Obama because of the ingenuity of their parents to WANT and EARN a better life for their kids. I think we (BLACK PEOPLE) should be ashamed of ourselves for allowing this type of belief to persist against us. We already have to face the world and when we add the addition of facing each other, well dang, we are nowhere near overcoming our mistakes, that’s for sure. Instead we are buying into the self-hatred that we learned from years of other people’s ideas about us.
If you could take one thing away from what I am saying to you right now, if anything please, please, please teach our young to be proud of our BLACKNESS. Take pride in all the shades and beautiful displays that we show every day as we express ourselves and the beauty that is our shared heritage and culture. I was watching a show the other day on MTV- True Life, I think the topic was on “passing.” This young girl was mixed (Black and white) she didn’t know her father and she didn’t feel like she associated with the Black in her so she would go to school and tell people she was Costa Rican or something to that effect. We should be proud of where we come from and not to take away from that girl’s story, but I am proud of what my Blackness means, for me. I don’t think that there is one or will ever be one definition of Blackness because there is no one definition or man, woman, child, human etc. We are all a multitude of culture, of creativity and of love. We need to appreciate our differences because it makes us a more valued people. #PGS!
-That’s all she wrote :)
Addendum (12.13.2012):
Other figures not mentioned in this blog whose Blackness has been questioned by some of the communities most prominent voices- President Barack Obama by Cornel West
And recently, which sparked me reposting this blog through my media outlets: RGIII was called a #Cornball because his fiance is white, and he may or may not be a Republican- UM WHO CARES!
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