Blacks aren't defined by urban wear and music
Diana Fountaine
Issue date: 2/10/05 Section: Opinion
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A black comic will tell you that if you pay your bills late or if your utilities are in your child's name, then you are black. A gangster rapper will tell if you keep it real, if you're from the gutter or the streets, if you're hard and a thug, then you are black. If you ask a politician what it means to be black, he or she will tell you to go to college, get an education and work for a living. It appears that there is no one true answer to what it means to be black, even more so in the 21st century.
What it means to be black depends on perception. What it means to be black to me may not mean the same thing to my fellow brother or sister. Some can't disassociate being black and being hip-hop. Others see rap and hip-hop as oppressive and disastrous to the black community.
It doesn't matter what each of us thinks being black is. Answering this question will not bring unity or peace in the community. It is important that we all realize that we have different perceptions on what it means to be black and that we don't judge each other by our personal logic and rhetoric.
I don't use slang. I like listening to Linkin Park and Switchfoot. I don't own any Phat Farm or Sean John. Does this mean I'm not black? Of course not, I love being black, I love my people and I am proud of my history. You will never see me with blonde streaks in my hair or blue contacts in my eyes. I love the kinky hair I was born with and the dark skin that God gave me.
I hate the fact that if you don't listen to rap music, if you don't talk ghetto or if you don't sag your pants or own a pair of Air Force Ones then you are a sellout and you want to be white. As long as you can look yourself in the mirror and say, "Yes, I am black and I'm proud of it," then how you talk, how you dress and what you listen to shouldn't matter.
Martin Luther King, Jr. said, "We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools." If we want to learn to live together, if we don't want to perish, then we have to stop worrying about hang ups about what it means to be black.
No two siblings are alike, even twins are different, just as no two black people are alike. If you ask me what it means to be black in any century, I'll tell you to be yourself and be proud of who you are. If you do that then you won't have to worry about being black enough. You'll have surpassed all expectations.
What it means to be black depends on perception. What it means to be black to me may not mean the same thing to my fellow brother or sister. Some can't disassociate being black and being hip-hop. Others see rap and hip-hop as oppressive and disastrous to the black community.
It doesn't matter what each of us thinks being black is. Answering this question will not bring unity or peace in the community. It is important that we all realize that we have different perceptions on what it means to be black and that we don't judge each other by our personal logic and rhetoric.
I don't use slang. I like listening to Linkin Park and Switchfoot. I don't own any Phat Farm or Sean John. Does this mean I'm not black? Of course not, I love being black, I love my people and I am proud of my history. You will never see me with blonde streaks in my hair or blue contacts in my eyes. I love the kinky hair I was born with and the dark skin that God gave me.
I hate the fact that if you don't listen to rap music, if you don't talk ghetto or if you don't sag your pants or own a pair of Air Force Ones then you are a sellout and you want to be white. As long as you can look yourself in the mirror and say, "Yes, I am black and I'm proud of it," then how you talk, how you dress and what you listen to shouldn't matter.
Martin Luther King, Jr. said, "We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools." If we want to learn to live together, if we don't want to perish, then we have to stop worrying about hang ups about what it means to be black.
No two siblings are alike, even twins are different, just as no two black people are alike. If you ask me what it means to be black in any century, I'll tell you to be yourself and be proud of who you are. If you do that then you won't have to worry about being black enough. You'll have surpassed all expectations.