I”ve wanted to write this piece for a long time. It’s probably an exhausted topic, but things like this make me really appreciate the true art of journalism. I can talk about things that upset me and issues that aggravate me to the point that the only way I can think to explain it is through this article.
It”s sad that throughout my 20 years of living, all of the discrimination I’ve faced has been from my own people.
I”ve been called ugly, stuck-up, and I constantly deal with people who waste time trying to figure out whether I would fall under the Twitter hashtag #teamlightskinned, or if I’m orange with a red tint, or caramel simply because of my skin complexion.
I”’ve even heard some people say that I was probably one of the “house niggas.” Is that what we”ve come to? If so, people, we really have work to do.
Right here on Florida A&M’s campus, there are students who think that it’s intelligent to classify themselves as “red-bone,” mocha or any other ridiculous words. You are in college and you need to start acting like it.
Slavery was not a joke and I’m sure the so-called “house niggas” didn’t want to be indoors anymore than the so-called “field niggas” wanted to pick cotton. They were slaves. That meant they had no rights and were treated like property. And we try to make each other relive it everyday.
For your information, I am not a slave and neither are you. Instead of finding humor in their bondage, let’s thank them for doing what they didn’t even have to do—for us.
It seems that in 2012 all we’re worried about is what shade of black looks prettier. It’s just not fair to judge someone’s character on how light or dark someone is. Sound familiar?
A reality that we all have to face is that whether you consider yourself high yellow or dark chocolate, all of that translates to one thing to the rest of the world—you are black. Once everyone starts to understand that, our community will be in a much better state.
Wake up. Our oppression and lack of progression is our fault. We talk about each other and we fail to motivate one another, yet we’re shocked that we’re still where we used to be.
I hope every word in this article angers you and if it does, that means that you are either guilty of saying the things mentioned or that you also see the need for us to erase such nonsense from our vocabulary. I can live with that.