What does it truly mean to be black? Does it mean knowing the struggle of oppression, or does it mean knowing the pride from which our ancestors in Africa came from? No, being black means when real lives are masterpieces of art delicately designed by our Creator.Being black is not just a statement of beauty,but it is a statement, period.
Paul Laurence Dunbar wrote about a caged bird singing, Mays Angelou wrote a book with the same title. Creativity flows freely from those who cannot taste true freedom. So u can imagine what is created when a whole race is oppressed. From creating songs like, "Follow The Drinking Gourd" to hide clues to escape slavery, to the Harlem Renaissance, when our people were set free but were being lynched and kept segregated. To modern times even now with our hostile rap lyrics that tells personal stories, or our extreme and over the top hairstyles that are now a part of hair competitions- the beauty of being black flows freely from us. A time when life imitates art; other races run to tanning beds to darken their skin when ours is naturally rich with melanin, they run to doctors to get curves, that our Queens have rocked gracefully for years, they get injections to plump their lips, while we have been blessed to have lips that don't need MAC lip plumper, and they imitate our creative expression and label it, " Hip Hop" or "Urban". Yet and still some of us are still in such mental captivity we do not see the beauty of our own race because we are so busy mimicking European society and conforming to it's standard of beauty and what's acceptable. We are a culture so beautiful that Rachel Dolezal, a leader for the NAACP, who portrayed herself to be a black woman denied her German heritage because of her love for African American culture. Can we blame this woman? No. Rachel's only fault was denying her history in order to mimic the life of those whose history is almost forgotten by modern America. You can't define black by "acting black" or having the "black experience". Being black simply means embracing the creative expression of a people who is oppressed proudly. Being Black isn't just the color of our skin being black means having the courage to see our history and make it our mission to lead our race to a better future. xoxo, Krystale Jane'l
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