As much as we try to hid behind the myth that racism is dead, the realities are inescapable. If you scan the local headlines you see the impact of racism everyday thus proven its permanence.
As I sit and ponder,“What does it mean to be black in America,” racism sits as a constant identifier of/for change. To be honest you cannot even answer the question without making the connection of racism and black people. Sadly, the make-up of many blacks is shaped and warped by the insidious impact of racism.
A simple task of escaping the concept of race has proven many times over to be an endless task. The very essence of life in America is interwoven with the heighten sense of racism. It has become a booming business scheme as well as a financial tool to manipulate wealth.
I submit that this is not a senseless cry of foul play,-but a honest look at my blackness. A blackness that is wrapped in an authentic sense of self awareness and love for other blacks who endured the same. A blackness that has reconsidered the position of others in spite of their heinous treatment. A blackness that is steeped in the love that beacons upon God to define why suffering looks to be the norm. A blackness that has a definition that is articulated and developed by everyone except those locked in this very blackness.
To be black in America is to deal with racism from the stance of normal rather than being surprised when encountered. Blackness is taught to be ignored even if you are black.
We have adopted the term minority but cringe at the very notion of be called African.
Americanism is a subtle subtitle for a systematic process that results in the power structure that has managed to marginalize the black.
What does it mean to be black?
It means to have tears that are labeled as shame rather than righteous indignation. A smile that is reduced to an evil smirk because fear has been embraced by onlookers-misunderstood. Being black means to relinquish certain aspects of your authenticity in order to provide a sense of moral uplift for others.
Blackness can be defined many ways with many different terms, but one thing is sure- many want to experience the black but do not want the black experience.
Just my thoughts.
Syncopated Hustle 