You Don't Even Act Black
"You don't even act Black!" Variations of this comment has been a knife in my throat, heart and stomach for as long as I can remember people saying it to me. I don't care how many Black friends you have or if you're Black yourself, the connotation here is fucked on all sides.
If my African ancestors blessed me with this dark skin, guess what, I'm fucking Black! And that doesn't change whether I annunciate, whether I make you feel at ease or don't, it doesn't change if I have loved ones of another skin color, whether I love The Chicks or don't like okra.
Black people can be all the things that White people can be and STILL retain our Blackness. Trust me, when you step into one of our family reunions the personality types, likes and dislikes are as diverse as every single other family in the world. We ALL got nerds and know it alls, we got hoes, we got shy peeps, we got loud lushes, we got punks, we got health nuts and we have dancers at all levels from wall flowers to dance floor slayers. The ancestry of humans is so beautifully different and yet so so similar. We have to find a way to hold space for it all and maybe that starts with widening your definitions..... As this unimaginative, pathetically inaccurate reflex we have of compartmentalizing people by skin color continues to sloooowly dismantle, be patient with each other. Get to know each other on deeper levels. Let your friends from different environments and lineages SURPRISE you and EXPAND you!!!!! It truly is time to be as close to authentic as you're brave enough to be in this moment. We need you, we need your examples, the lessons of your lineages and ancestry, your triumphs and cautionary tales. Thank you to the people out there who've been putting in the work and taking the heat in blazing their own trail xoxoxoxoxo
Photo is drawn by me! I've always wanted to cartoon but can't draw to save my life. On my good days in quarantine I've found the energy to practice so here's a lil' taste. More to come! Also been looking for a bad ass artist/cartoonist to collaborate with, DM me PLEASE!! #semiwoo #woowoo #womeninpsychedelics #womeninweed #plantspiritmedicine #blacknerds #authenticitysaves
