Take a minute to think about the term, “black”.
What came to mind?
When it comes to the American usage of black, words like gloom, depression, fear, and disaster are too often and quickly associated with what black, is supposed to be. As an African-American growing up around other people of color, I paid a lot of attention to how this commonly used definition of black was accepted and used in our everyday vernacular. I noticed how bluntly things like, “You’re too black”, “That’s too black”, as if it was fact that to be black, was an undesirable thing to be.
I’ve had many assignments in different classes over the years where we had to analyze the shade black, and how it is used throughout art and media. From these assignments, I brought away that we were supposed to accept that the deep shade that is black is used to imply that something or someone is not to be trusted, violent or evil. That what is dark, is to be rejected, and disregarded as unlovable and unacceptable.
This is the same ideal that leads children to believe that the “light doll” is the prettiest and smartest one, and the darker doll which whom they share complexions with is the one that needs to be thrown away because there is nothing appealing to be found in her. This is what makes grown women of color feel like their college educations are still not enough in their career field…That bleaching their skin and hiding what grows out of their scalps is as much of a necessity as stepping into corporate America with a briefcase and suit. This is why we have people of color of all ages wearing hoodies in 90-degree weather claiming in justification they simply, “Can’t afford to get darker.”
Because we as a society ae so quick to classify black as being synonymous to anything but good, we now have black people, or anyone of a darker complexion viewing their own selves as anything, but good.
With all of this being said, my next question becomes; What happens if we change what black means to the world, starting with ourselves? Many members of our current society have already began to implement such an idea by getting things like #blackexcellence, and #myblackisbeautiful to trend on our most popular social medias, giving the current and future generations something to be immediately proud of when they think of black.
The fact of the matter is, black can mean so much more than blatant negativity. In fact, there are several authors and artists who have used the rich tint that is black to mean power, regency, resiliency, maturity, and class. Imagine if that was the new norm for what came to mind when the masses thought of black?
Think of how liberating that would feel…to believe that your melanin, no matter how deep and dark your complexion was, was the mecca of intelligence, greatness, and wisdom. Maybe then would we indeed be willing and able to take over the world.