Hello! Yes, it's me. I'm that black girl. The one who's hair reaches to the heavens one day and points to the ground the next. I'm the one over here, with the nose that's wider than "normal" and the skin color that makes people believe that there has to be an extra ingredient to my race.
I may be the loud one, my words resembling that of Ebonics while using hand gestures and tongue clicks. Or perhaps I'm the one you would think to be the first to shake my behind to the latest Rap music.
Yes, there's the chance that I could be asking for financial assistance to support my children and myself. I could also be behind you in line at our local store, patting the hair on my head that may or may not be all mine to relieve the itching.
Now look closer because I could be the person working towards my degree. It could be my signature on your checks every two weeks. Just because of my outer appearance, you forget that I could be your interviewer for the job you so badly desire.
Focus now for I could just so easily be the person prescribing your medication, caring for your loved one or the one that holds the gavel. I'm that black girl; perhaps the owner of the company you visit regularly.
Look around! You may see me fighting with another person over things that hardly matter, but what about the one that's keeping to herself? The one that sits in the corner with a book or just scrolls through her phone.
I'm that black girl. I'm the one you complain about being too loud, and the one you call names for going outside of the norm. My hair may vary in its shades. My features aren't always accepted.
My efforts to lift myself up are quickly shunned. My lifestyle is mimicked and is then somehow socially acceptable. My life isn't valued nearly as much as it should be, and I am silenced when speaking my mind.
I'm that black girl; the one gossiping to her friends about my peers. I'm that black girl; the one going home to her loving husband. I'm that black girl; the one with the "attitude" on the bus. I'm that black girl; possibly the one writing this article. Tell me. What have you really been focusing on?
