Being unique

African Americans are incredible people with so many fascinating components. Our melanin, our hair, our infinite amounts of savage/petty remarks. We can be adorable, fierce and shady all at once. Most of us know our limits when it comes to certain actions. We are hesitant when something might seem ungodly and unworthy of our time. We are different, to say the least.

Being mocked

Though our community slays continuously, we are forever used as comedic triggers in popular television shows written by ignorant writers. We are seen as the incredibly ghetto black friend who has no common sense. We are seen as the wise old maid who has seen everything since slavery and also as the rowdy fist throwing group of miscreants who have nothing better to do then to sell dope and fight.

Being told your life is of lesser value

We want to breathe effortlessly but this does not come easy. As an African American, our lives are challenged when we step into a car or walk down the street at night. We want people to realize this factor in our life but people tend to shrug it off. Our lives don’t seem to matter anymore.

Being afraid

We’re afraid for our lives. We want nothing more than to succeed in this world, but we can’t because our fears are coming true. Our brothers and sisters are continuing to stare down a barrel of a gun due to actions that aren’t worth firing guns. Our race is being silenced each day and one day that is all we will be.

Always seeing your culture stolen and being told to accept it

From hairstyles, to food, to our clothing, African Americans are seeing everything they created be taken from them. We are watching this happen and we fight to keep it our own. But then we are deemed selfish individuals who need to learn how to let go. People in this world want us to be dumbfounded and oblivious to culture appropriation. They want us to joke about the un-jokeable. But our clothing isn’t something to laugh it. Sometimes it is a part of our religion. It is a part of story and you are not the co-author.

Being generalized

People assume we are these angry, unintelligent aliens with no goals or positive intentions. But let me get one thing clear. We are not what the media portrays us to be. We are better. We will always be better. We come in all shapes and sizes and you can never figure us out.

Seeing black people succeed and still being seen as less

We try harder than anyone in any corporate setting. We pull ourselves higher and higher on that ladder, with the words “probably going to fail.” We fight for our chance to be seen and to be heard. We listen to our superiors and bare our tongues. We finally become the boss but then we never get the respect we ultimately deserve. We are seen as a threat when we become something that we always strived for. Greatness.

Being proud nonetheless

Our lives are formed with tragedy and the little successful moments. And we are proud for those moments. It’s a never ending cycle of having pride for ourselves and losing pride for our country. Our pride is with us, secretly coursing through our veins as we live each day.

Being black in America means never looking back at the past that everyone is staring at. It means trying to find love and support through all the tragedy and the strife. It means being able to stand up for what you believe in even though you might be standing alone.