The best part about being a P.O.C (People of Color) is knowing that you will overcome every obstacle one lays out before you. It's the moment you realize the only difference between you and Hilary Duff, is how your kinks (or loose curls) pop severely.When you know that your melanin is a built - in protection from the Father, the sun and a holy heat wave. One of the hardest parts of being a P.O.C is trying to explain to your white peers exactly what "White Privilege" is. Sometimes, as people of color, we don't have time to give you a whole run through, because some will understand and others will just try to make excuses that they have no business making excuses for.
For example:
When you strut on down fabulously to your social media accounts complimenting a job well done to the Cast of "The Wiz" and then you scroll on Twitter and see this:
Wait, but there is an "All-White" version of "The Wiz", have you ever heard of "The Wizard of Oz"?
Let us first remember that most of the stars on Broadway are white. White privilege is realizing that an all white cast for "The Wizard of Oz" is considered a classic, but everyone thinks an all black cast is racist. Lets also not forget that "The Wizard of Oz" is a fictional story, and they are paying their respects to the original piece. How does one think that an all-black cast for a fictional story is racist, but completely ignore the fact that directors placed white actors and actresses in movies based on Egyptian Pharaohs. They won't even blink an eye to put a black person as a slave though!
Have you ever heard of the movies:
"Exodus Gods and Kings" and "Noah"?
I'll wait....
Wait, did you forget that Jesus was born in Africa? Yet, in every movie portrayal, television series, even pictures you see...
Let's not even get started on police brutality. Remember Michael Brown? How apparently killing him was justified because he "stole some cigars", even though the store clerk said that he didn't. Did your best friend Sally get killed when she stuck some new Victoria's Secret panties into her purse or did she just get a slap on the wrist? How did an unarmed teenage boy with his hands up get killed, but the man who shot up a church gets handcuffed and pulled away with a bullet proof vest and then gets taken to Burger King? What did they do; serve him a Jr. Whopper with a side of injustice?
Think about classic black styles. When I was younger and got cornrows in my hair, I would be crying on my way to school because I knew I would be laughed at. All of a sudden now when Kylie Jenner wears cornrows it is called "chic" and all over the media she is praised.
Remember when Zendaya wore yarn braids and then she was compared to a "Weed-Head", but when Miley Cyrus wore the dread-lock wig what did you hear?
Remember when Bantu knots were considered doo-doo twists but when Marc Jacobs did them on a white model they were praised and called "twisted mini buns"
Twisted?
Mini-Buns?
This idea that people of color are terrorists in a country that was created by a white person and their crew sailing down to this land, raping and spreading multiple diseases to the inhabitants and then pushing them into the confines of reservoirs is quite ironic. Remember how the indigenous people were accepting, but yet we won't accept Syrian refugees. White privilege is looking at the textbook and realizing that a McGraw-Hill textbook called slaves "immigrant workers". Workers?
When our women were raped and gave birth to melanin-blessed sons they weren't safe from the mistreatment either. They were sent to work as soon as they were able to maneuver and could perform simple tasks. As much as today's whites may say "this isn't our fault", alright we'll give you that but what are you doing to help your fellow people of color when they face today's racism? Do you say they got into an ivy-league institution by "affirmative action"? Do you check your privilege before talking about the "Black Lives Matter" movement? Do you make sure to fact check and understand the difference between equity and equality? If not, then...
What are you doing?
