What does it mean to be black?
Martin Luther King Jr and his Civil Rights March on Washington
What does it mean to be black?
What does it mean to live black?
These are difficult questions to respond to, nevertheless, poignant ones that need to be openly addressed.
Recent events in the world have encouraged me to discover more about the global oppression faced by people of colour, and also for me to become aware of the grass-rooted societal stereotypes and what I need to do to break those toxic misconceptions.
I believe in human beings, and that all human beings should be treated equally, regardless of their skin colour.
Malcolm X
Police
The common stereotypes associated with black people are to have a very heavy and sometimes threatening accent, being uneducated, or being a criminal.
But I do not fall into any of these categories.
For many, it feels like being black is a crime in itself. We have seen the systemic racism in the vulgar, inexplicable death of George Floyd, which even four months on, continues to haunts me, galvanised by the deep-rooted societal warnings, like: “Stay away from black teenage boys, they are suspicious.”
Because we are punished for being black.
I have always looked up to police officers as brave and diligent individuals who would prioritise the wellbeing of the general public over themselves. People who put everything on line regardless of their personal risk, such as PC Keith Palmer who died in service, stopping a terrorist from entering the Houses of Parliament.
But despite such shining individuals, there continues to be those who seek to oppress; those who will habitually profile me as black and dangerous without knowing anything about me. An example is Derek Chauvin, responsible for the murder of the unarmed George Floyd, a policeman who had no need to take his life, solely on the procedural grounds of an apparent counterfeit note.
Workplace & Education
My parents have always told me that I need to work twice as hard as the next person, as being black in this country comes with some systematic racism.
There is a lack of diversity throughout nearly all job sectors – take football managers, as an example; how many that you know are back? Not many.
But how many of them do you see are white? Most of them. This lack of representation from POC (people of colour) is widespread, as documented from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’s recent finding which shows global unemployment rates by race; an indication of racial differences in the workplace.
Social Life
Social life is difficult when you often become treated like an outsider. Especially when hit by a barrage of name-calling, harassment and bullying as a whole.
Again, we refer to those historically shining individuals – advocates such as Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr, and more contemporary civil rights activists such as Al Sharpton, though their success in achieving social mobility is heavily reliant upon those who choose to listen or to ignore.
Two poignant statistics that I would like to leave with you are from the Pew Research Center:
- “Looking ahead, about four-in-ten (43%) blacks are sceptical that the country will ever make the changes needed for blacks to achieve equal rights with whites.”
- “Most Americans say, as a country, we have yet to achieve racial equality. Roughly six-in-ten (61%) say that our country needs to continue making changes for blacks to have equal rights with whites, while 30% say we have made the changes needed to bring about equality.”
Cover image by © Rowland Scherman, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons