“Your boobs are small for a black girl”
“Wow, your hair is long for a black girl”
“Nice butt, but of course it is, you’re black!”
Dear ignorant people, I’m sorry I don’t fit your definition of a black girl. You probably didn’t know that Africa is made up of many countries that all have different histories and different people. How could we all look the same? I can’t begin to explain how frustrating it is when people try to categorize me. I have heard people comment on how they don’t understand why some black girls “actually have hair” and are confused because not all of our lips are big…
What causes people to have these preconceived notions about black girls? Or black people in general? It all starts in the education system. In school, we learn history through the eyes of the winner. When we learn about Africa, we learn about how hungry and poor the people are, or how the U.S. helped African countries out of poverty. What about the wars that were fought for freedom? What about the resilience of our African mothers, seeing their children kidnapped or killed in front of their faces? Let’s talk about how the U.S. tries to take advantage of African countries by pretending to help them with the intention of taking over their land and feeding off of their rich minerals. Why don’t we talk about the cultural appropriation that takes African cultures and turns them into retail in the US? Might as well bring up the fact that it took the United States until 2008 to elect a black president.
What we teach our children is what will stick with them their whole life. So why not teach them the truth about history and how to mindfully interact with different people? Media plays a huge role in everything. Cartoons depict black girls with poofy, curly hair and big lips and black boys as basketball players with coarse afros. The media also assumes the fact that all black people have soulful voices and can sing gospel like a pro (which I can’t do at all). So start by monitoring what your children are watching– what are they searching on YouTube? These little things affect the way they interact with the world, so why not stay in tune with the information your children are being fed?
It’s difficult living in a country where your skin color was cause for enslavement for decades and although enslavement is now illegal, the fight is not over. I’m fighting for the freedom from social oppression, and when the day comes where it’s a norm to see black people in control of their social lives, the fight will continue. So yes, I’m a black girl with a big butt and long hair, but why does that matter? My body does not define my personality.
