Not "The Average Black Girl"

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The "Average Black Girl," is a spoken word piece written and recited by an African American girl about the difficulties that she faces as an African American in "modern" society. She speaks on how, in the eyes of others, specifically Caucasians, she isn't seen as the average black girl or the stereotypical black girl. She is seen as one of the "good" or decent ones with grace and poise, with looks to kill, hair passing her knees, with the softest voice, and the most polished vocabulary. As if she wasn't black at all.

Yeah, these things may be seen as compliments but to her they were more than that because the so called "compliments" are bigger than her and she's far greater than them. Sure they sound nice, but they come with an underlying message; they're put in place to elevate her while belittling her brothers and sisters and that's never okay. She was smart enough though to see the words for what they were and reacted to them with strength and confidence. Her piece served as a slap in the face to society and their continued ignorance showing them that we are more than the pigment of skin, we are individuals and deserve to be treated as such.

Personally, I am beyond exhausted with the idea of "the average black girl" and the stigma that it comes with. As African Americans and females we are beyond the box that society does its best to confine us in. We are all different, being unique in cultural background, educational capacity, and overall upbringing and we should be judged solely on those things and the way we each choose to express them to the world. It almost seems like too much to ask for though because of how corrupted society is, sadly the work of heroes like Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, Marcus Garvey, Harriet Tubman, and Rosa Parks have been short lived due to the ignorance and ungratefulness of many.

America is said to be considered a salad with different colors and toppings but with each passing day is looks more and more like a bowl full of tarnished spinach to me because it's filled with many misconceptions, selfishness, and unaccepting individuals. It's absolutely ridiculous and a shame that these words come to me so easily but I have no shame in how I feel and have nothing but confidence in the words that I speak. Society is not only unaccepting of those that are viewed as minorities, those that are darker in completion, but also those who are culturally diverse feeling like we're the blame for a lot of their shortcomings when they're the one who've not only created problems but have also made them nearly impossible to fix.