by Simone Edwards, Editor-in-Chief Is my blackness funny to you?
You laugh as you don gold hoops and tease your hair to make it "puffy" You listen to Kanye West and Childish Gambino and laugh when I don't know that one song that's not even that good You watch Trump's speeches and you laugh saying, "he's just a businessman" You say, "he's human. He makes mistakes, but he's making this country better." You want to "make America great again" And you laugh and tell me not to be "so serious" when I say that America was never great For Us. Is my blackness a joke? You joke with your friends that you don't "see color" And in the same conversation, you talk about Michelle Obama and how unqualified she was As the first lady With her two degrees, from Ivy League schools. You stop laughing when I walk in, and when I hear a giggle and ask, "what's up?" You look around and say, " we were just talking about affirmative action in the Honors College." You quickly say, "we were just kidding. I'm sure you were supposed to get in." But your eyes betray you. Is my blackness threatening? Yes. Possibly. You look me up and down when I walk into a meeting. While I am not, and will never be, anything but black, I can almost hear your thoughts. Perhaps you're wondering which "type" of black person I am. You only have two types: ignorant and educated. I know that once you hear me talk, and once you realize that I'm articulate, As many black people are, You deem me as "one of the good ones." While I don't mind praise: why is it that, when I do a minimally good job, you're so impressed? And when I do even more, you suddenly want me as your token black person for everything that you do? Does it threaten you that I'm smarter than you? Does it threaten you further that I'm the leader of this club or organization, and thus, You have to follow my lead? Why am I rude when I assert myself? But that white girl who said the same thing, in the same tone, is "bold" or a "boss"? My blackness is not funny to anyone, but you. As you vote for someone with no regard for any melanin, And you financially contribute to organizations, or prisons, that continue to systematically oppress us, You're a comedian on a stage. And I, along with all those uniquely blessed with melanin, Am the stage. It's only a matter of time before you realize that we not only built that stage, but that we're holding you up. It's only a matter of time before we’re no longer systematically beneath you.
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December 2018
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