Being a human is arguably the greatest honor you can have on this planet. You get to live freely, be sheltered and be anything you want to be. Not under captivity of another being, well I thought. The being that seems to have a firm grip on me is my skin color.
Don't get me wrong I love being an African American male is a great honor in my personal opinion. I'm seen as a reinforcing figure when speaking to young children. My hair is curly, my eyes are brown with skin a little darker than the average persons but that doesn't define who I am. As I thought but the world around me tries to dictate who I am because I'm black. I'm seen as a threat in some situations rather than just another human being.
I personally don't feel like I have a target on my back all of the time but in certain situations people are aiming right at it. With their eyes, their gestures, their attitudes directed at me and those who look like me. Stepping on the train after flying into Washington, D.C, a women saw me and gripped her purse very hard when I stepped near her. The ride itself was a little bumpy but her constant staring made things one hundred percent more uncomfortable. Other situations like walking in the store and people judging you while a "random" person walks a few isles near you until you leave. Being suspected of stealing because someone with the same skin color as you did it before.
Being black seems to be seen as something so negative yet it is something so beautiful. The color of my skin itself is seen as beautiful but what its deeper than that. Being different from the norm is beautiful and should never be frowned upon. My skin is not meant to be compared to yours as a joke of how tan you are. My curly hair is not and should never be deemed as unprofessional in a work place because you don't understand. I am not your history book for the social injustices of African Americans before my time. I am not your black friend that makes it acceptable for you to say racist and rude things to other of my color.
The hardest part of being black is being able to be yourself. Owning your heritage is one thing but it does not make up every single quality of who you are as individual. My skin color does not define what I am supposed to like. Being "too white" is not an actual thing but something we have created as a joke but is taken to seriously. Putting stereotypes on people who have the free will to enjoy whatever they see fit.
My "blackness" does not deserve worried looks. It does not deserve to be presented as if I am violent in the media. My people are shown in mugshots rather portraits as those of different races when something happens. Your skin color deserve a stereotype that may not ever be true. You are who you are and embracing what you are is amazing and beautiful in its own way. All things in this world are beautiful and the differences between us should not separate us because at the end of the day we are all human.
Sheetal Tadiparty
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