“You speak so well!” is what I heard being whispered to me, over the yelling customers placing their order, and the sizzling of 10 pounds of steak being slapped onto the grill beside me. I worked at Jim’s Steak over the summer, home of the best cheesesteaks in Philly. The smell seeping out the window and into the streets is like a Siren who knocks on your door and holds your hand as it walks you to your demise. So naturally the store is extremely busy, and on this particular day I’m the new girl trying to keep up. I’m answering phones, wrapping cheesesteaks, and trying to focus on this organized chaos around me; amidst all of that is when I heard my new co-worker comment on the way I speak. Her “compliment” took me back for a second because though it was in fact intended as such, I still felt it was a slap in the face.
That sting is an all too familiar feeling, as I’m sure it is to anyone who has been stereotyped. That moment brought me back to grade school when everyone used to tell me I “talked white” and called me an oreo. White on the inside and black on the outside was the definition they used. As if speaking proper english is only subjective to white people. So when my co worker, with good intentions, told me that I spoke well I took it as “You speak well…for a black person!”. These types of stereotypes are inflicted on everyone and are in the minds of all of us. However, it’s up to us to educate ourselves and break this cycle of assuming.
The Black Student Union here at Kutztown University held “Breaking the Stereotypes Campaign”, intended to dismantle the stereotypes that we hear and use! On October 4th, in front of one of the busiest buildings on campus, several brave students who have felt that sting at some point in their life stood together. Each person had a white board with the words “I am ___ but I am not ___” and their own stereotype that they wanted to break filled in the blanks. So many people participated and group on a campus tour stopped to watch and a couple of them even participated. It was a beautiful moment, and I’ve never been more proud to be a student here at Kutztown.
This campaign showed that you decide who you are and what that means to you. No one can label or put a title on your story. You’re the author and editor of your life and if you have to hold a poster with words painted in extra large print for people to understand that, then do it.