So I was just recently watching one of my Youtube web series called The UnWritten Rules. Based on the book, “40 Hours and an Unwritten Rule: The Diary of a Nigger, Negro, Colored, Black, African-American Woman” by Kim Williams, the web series examines the comedic realities of a Black Co-Worker in a predominantly white workplace. Very good series staring the beautiful Aasha Davis as Racey Jones the “black face in a white place”.
I defiantly recommend it for anyone going through this in their lives and for those looking to understand this.

Anyway I was watching an episode the other day called “Color-Blind” which is about Racey who is helping this client at work over the phone and they were working really well together till the client met Racey in person and then found out she was black. She came in the room and gave her white co-worker a hug thinking she was Racey. Later in the episode Racey went to one of her co-workers to ask if she sounds white and her co-worker said “Your not really like other black people” “Your not black black like what you see on tv hip-hop, gangster, ghetto” To which Racey response with “If you don’t see color then you don’t see me”.

Anyway It got me thinking I mean what is black anyway? I mean I’ve gotten “well your different” or “your not that kind of black” but what is that kind of black? I talk proper instead of talking ghetto slang or I grew up in the suburbs in a mostly white community went to one of the top high schools in the country instead of the inner-city. I have been fortune to have met some super intelligent people from the inner-city ghetto so to say that where this kind of black or that just by where we live or grew up is invalid because I have met some ghetto white people too.

It also brought up an issue I see floating around social media a lot this whole #teamlightskin #teamdarkskin controversy. Ok just because darker skin “black” people think they are looked down on more then us light skin ones is true maybe a super small percentage of times. But when you think about it honestly where both black and at the end of the day if a light skin & dark skin black person were standing on a street corner and a white cop was standing across from us I don’t think he would see light and dark just two black people and he would pull the trigger on both of us.

Last month I watched this documentary on Youtube that aired on CNN a while ago that Soledad O’ Brian did called “Who is Black in America?” which follows different examples of black. They take a girl who is from Egypt who she views her self as a black person but the American Censes says she is white. Take her friend who is mixed black & white and views her self in more the white light then black but doesn’t really call herself either. She listens to different kinds of music (mostly rock) and has lots of white friends. Then you have this girl’s sister who views herself more black and listens to more hip-hop and has more black friends. Towards the end of the doc the “whiter” sister was able to call herself a beautiful black women which was a stepping stone for her.

This got me thinking too I mean I feel a lot more like Racey or even Denise from the Cosby Show. Racey has a crazy ethnic name that most people can’t pronounce, doesn’t listen to a lot of modern hip-hop (mostly the older hip-hop, rock, pop, folk, R&B, country and more) speaks proper, is very cultured & is a mix of many different things. So when you try and define “black” I feel you can’t go by what over people think what black is you have to come up with your own definition of what being black means to you.

This brings me to something else I have seen recently through AfroPunk, (refers to the participation of African Americans and other black people in alternative pop cultures) an indie movie which is going to theaters this October called Dear White People. DEAR WHITE PEOPLE follows the stories of four black students at an Ivy League college where a riot breaks out over a popular “African American” themed party thrown by white students. With tongue planted firmly in cheek, the film will explore racial identity in “post-racial” America while weaving a universal story of forging one’s unique path in the world.

Now just from the previews I have seen this movie seems like a great movie for people to watch. They talk about black people issues in a funny way like us not all being like a Tyler Perry movie & for people to not ask “can I touch your hair?” or for that matter “is it real?” Oh and incase no one told you the one black friend to not seem racist count just rose to 2.

It’s kind of like being black & Native American; even though I will never be able to have the same experience as a person living on a reservation (which I learned last week) I’ve learned that I have to define being Native for myself while mixing these two very rich cultures together.

I guess what I’m trying to say is you can’t define something or someone by skin color, where they live, how they speak or act, even what kind of music they listen to. In the end its what is in their heart and their spirit. And ok I know I will sound real hippie with this but why does color matter so much and stereotypes I mean to me we are all human in the end as long as your a dope person who has a good spirit I don’t care who you are we are all a rainbow in the end! 🌈

one of my favorite songs by India Aria is I am not my Hair there is a great quote “I am not my hair, I am not this skin, I am the soul that lives with in”

Well now that I’ve gone all kinds of deep on ya’ll I’ll end this saying live by the light of the moon. 🌙