Dear Quinnipiac Student,
You may not know who I am, and I do not expect you to. I am just a regular person trying to make an earnest living while attending college at Penn State University. It has come to my attention that you have posted a picture of yourself in blackface with the caption “black lives matter” in the middle. Not surprisingly, people got very upset with it and the picture became viral in a matter of minutes. Needless to say, I, an African-American myself was unhappy by the picture. Now don’t worry, this isn’t some opportunity for me to say rude comments or hope the worst for you. I do not wish anything like that to happen to you at all. My goal here, is to just talk to you about how folks like me feel about situations like this.
You will never know how it feels to have indescribable fear when a police car is near you when driving. When even though you have done nothing wrong, recent events still keep reminding you that you can be just another statistic at any given moment. Could you imagine the enormous chip on your shoulder when someone judges you on the color of your skin rather than the content of your character? Would you like to know what it is like for your family to fear for your safety every time you go out because a regular traffic stop could mean life or death? People calling you nigger, expecting you to become the stereotype they think you’ll be, and don’t even get me started on when everyone loses their minds when someone says “Black Lives Matter”.
Like I said, this isn’t for me to say rude things to you or wish bad fortune upon you. All I can ask, is that you see the world through my eyes. Growing up, it took me awhile to be happy with who I was when it came to being black. Heck, I even wanted to change my name because I wanted to fit in. I wanted to know what it was like to belong, without worrying about my race for one moment, as if it was curse from the moment I was born. For awhile I didn’t want to be black anymore. It took me until junior year in college to love my skin, and to be very happy with the culture I was raised in. I guess you can say that I’m black and proud! I was born a black man, and I’ll live the rest of my life as one with no regrets. I have people like you to thank for that. Oddly, your picture has made me even more confident, making me realize that my strength comes from the struggles I’ve had in my life. Whenever I see your picture, I plan to say to myself, “be REAL black and beautiful always”, everyday for the rest of my life. I wish you nothing be the best my friend. Peace.
