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Okay, so be that as it may, it's Black History month, and here I am, a straigthish, Black, NativeAmerican, Chinese, Scottish, English, and Spanish woman and I thought I should address some of the crazier things I've heard over the years and especially over the recent months about being black...and set the record --er--straight as it were.
Therefore, for the purposes of this blog post, and for today only, just consider me black. Cause, in case you didn't know, in America, if you are even as much as one thirty-second black, you are considered, for the purposes of census, birth certificates and such, black. Or African-American. Even if you've never been closer to Africa than the Discovery Channel.
Listen up now, and try to remember these few things.
1) Black folks come in a whole lotta colors. Check it out here: http://www.amazon.com/Shades-Black-Celebration-Our-Children/dp/0439148928 and here: http://imstillvic.blogspot.com/?zx=b94430215847d42e or even here: http://ninalee-cherryambition.tumblr.com/post/3408769713/shades-of-black-cosmo7-black-girls
This photo (above) doesn't even take into account the black people that are so light they have trouble being accepted as black by other blacks, nor the blacks whom are that beautiful shade of black so dark there are glints of blue that show in strong light. The pic below shows a lovely example of that, though I have seen darker men, like my dear friend Kelly Khol from San Francisco, who was stunningly beautiful, both a talented dancer and a gifted singer. He was a gift to all of us who knew him back then, as I am sure he is to all who know him today, not just because of his rare physical beauty and musical talent, but also because of his beautiful soul. I still miss you Kelly.
Okay. Got that? Black people come in a lot of colors. Like the beauty below.
2)Black people are not all ignorant, or lazy. Hello, Barack Obama. Martin Luther King Jr., Vicktor Alexander are just a few examples of this. Or, hell, me.
3) Ebonics is actually a different language, as there are different verb tenses. That is what defines the difference between a dialect and a language difference. So when a black person who speaks Ebonics at home or in their community struggles with standard American English? Give them the same courtesy you would anyone who is an ESL speaker. And give them help in school as kids, just as you would a child coming from a family that speaks Russian, or Spanish, or any foreign language.
4) There's a lot of strength that comes from being black, and a lot of heartache. Never doubt it. It's just like being any other ethnicity, only...blacker. Good and bad and every kind of blue, if you know what I mean.
Okay, I'm getting down off that soap box for now, and proffering an apology for not getting my Friday Flash up last week. I was sick. :( but, I'm working on a little something to make sure that even when I am sick, I will still be able to get my posts up.
I'll do my best, babies.
Yeah, and here's a little Black History Music for you.
Enjoy it, lieblings.
A lot of really great info in here Cherie! I hope you are feeling better.
ReplyDeleteOne of my friends gave me a compliment that I still cherish to this day, "Inside, you are a strong black woman." I love that for a million reasons, because she is wonderfully black, because she didn't judge me on my skin color, and because in so many ways black women are among the most underserved people in our country, and work harder than anyone else - so they're stronger than anyone. You know what I mean. Sigh, it's hard as heck to talk about race when you're so darn white that when getting your driver's license, they don't ask you to donate your organs, but ask you to donate your skin for roadside reflectors.
ReplyDeleteP.S. I miss K'lee too, I often wonder where he is. The Allens of course too, but I still think about how utterly perfect K'lee's skin was.
Did I misspell his name? Hah. So like me. Sorry for that. I miss the Allens too. At least I still have you, and some of the others from that wonderful, magical time. You are very much a strong black sistah on the inside. I love you, Hel (as in the ruler of Helheim, and Loki's youngest child with the giantess Angrboda)
ReplyDeleteThank you! I love you too, and you're one of like ten people that knows how to spell my name and what it means :) most go for the double hockey sticks and miss the old n true meaning! Btw, K'Lee's name was weird to spell, I just knew it because I mighta been just a weeeeeee bit obsessed. Cough.
ReplyDelete