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There is racism everywhere, in every State. You will not notice here as much as you would in the deep South. I have lived in Mississippi and Florida, and if I was with another white person they would use the N word as though it were okay. I hated it. I grew up in CA and live in OK now. I didn't hear any racist comments until Obama ran, and then my CA friends said that they were hearing the same. All I can say is in OKC you may not notice it as much, in a small town you may. Here some Native Americans are against whites and vise versa. Don't allow this to be a determining factor in your move, although I would say if you told me that you were moving to MS I would say if racism bothers you, don't move there. Here you will find some people still referring to Blacks as Colored. But I have not heard the N word.
My point is, who is racist towards Asians? Who? What do those terrible white peoplc say about Asians? That they are short and have little penises? Anything else? Got anything? Exactly.
The cause of racial discrimination is from stereotypes generally caused by a perception usually associated with certain behaviors or statistics. Obviously when blacks contribute about 3-5x more crime than their proportion of the population, people are going to start making assumptions that they are all bad people. Is this true? NO. Is it fair that the good blacks are branded as criminals because of the bad blacks? Probably not. But if blacks as a group behaved like Asians, then they would be treated like Asians. And there is no reason to believe otherwise.
I am personally part Native-American and I live in the state of Oklahoma. I always remark on the fact that there is basically no racism towards Native-Americans in this state, although there are plenty of people who complain constantly about hispanics(and that pattern emerges largely across this entire country). The truth is, there is almost no cause for discrimination or racism towards native-americans, because there isn't really a justifiable reason for its existence.
I am sorry that you are black and that you are discriminated against. The way to fix it is to tell your brethren to stop being a bunch of loudmouths, dicks, criminals, and violent a-holdes. I don't give a crap whether or not you get discriminated against, I have personally felt the effects of discrimination, it doesn't feel great, but now that I am not a little kid anymore, I understand why it exists. There are more than 40 million blacks in this country, that is more black people in this country than there are people in 90% of the countries in Europe. So don't pretend for a second that the white man can somehow hold you down forever. With a limited government that encourages competition. Blacks could all congregate in Georgia, vote in a black government, create a black Wall street and black businesses, and theres really nothing us white people can do about it.
Look, I have no doubt that the SAT has a certain amount of cultural bias. Regardless of that bias, Asians outperform whites on the SAT consistently. Blacks on the other hand consistently perform like total crap on the SAT. Secondly, the creation of the SAT was to test aptitude(not achievement like the ACT). Which made it basically the equivalent of an IQ test. Which is why the SAT has scores in comparison to racial disparities in much the same way as the IQ test. I could really care less if white women are overall the largest beneficiaries for affirmative-action. Why do I care if white women are handed special preferences exactly? I don't. I don't personally believe that it has helped them or society in any meaningful way. In fact, most measures of happiness put female happiness lower today than it was before affirmative-action.
It doesn't. But how does it benefit the guy being discriminated against because he scored an 800 on his SAT and can't get into college? How does it benefit the 18-year-old kid who can't hardly find a job because he is young and has no work experience? What does it benefit the women who is applying for the labor job but can't get it because she is a woman and they don't believe she is capable of doing the work? What does it benefit the old guy who is practically retirement age, who can't get the job because they don't want to bother training him since he is going to be retiring soon? What does it benefit the short guy who can't hardly get a date because women want a man taller than them? What does it benefit the guy with down-syndrome whom everyone looks upon as inferior and worthless?
Life isn't fair, get over it. Why does it matter if people discriminate against you to begin with? Does the fact that a group of people sees you as inferior somehow completely ruin your life? So your girlfriends parents hate you and never want to see you married to their daughter, is it the end of the world? People want to pretend that people should just accept everyone for whatever reason regardless of their apparent or assumed flaws. But life doesn't work that way, get over it, move on.
You can't force people to change their views, and a law enforced by the government doesn't change anything at all. The only way to change peoples views of the world, is to be an example for why their views about you are wrong. If you want to stop being discriminated against, for whatever reason, stop being the person people assume you to be. Stop being ghetto, stopping being druggies and criminals, stop being uneducated, stop being a loudmouth, stop being an entitlement hungry lazy bastard, and tell all your friends to stop being these things to. Without a reason for racism, there can be no racism.
With a very limited government, the foundation for racism is destroyed. As the only people who will be successful, will be successful on their own merit, not because of special priviledges.
Actually, there are other things being said, and "Asian" is merely an umbrella term. You have Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese, Laotian, Cambodian,Indian, Pakistani, etc. There are bad things that are said. There are people who don't like Indians and Pakistanis running the gas stations. In some places, many people don't like Hmong and Vietnamese people, citing reasons such as gangs particularly.
And historically, immigrants from Asia were treated horribly, especially the Chinese and Japanese. The reason Japanese-Americans and Chinese Americans have their rights now is because it started with African-Americans standing up to the government and telling the government "we won't take anymore crap from you".
Redshadowz, I don't believe you when you say racial discrimination is caused by stereotypes. This is why. Racial discrimination is a historical problem in the USA. It has been going on since this nation began. If you look at American history, it's pretty telling. African-Americans have been discriminated, stereotyped, "Jim Crowed", and basically hated on for years. In alot of cases, African-Americans were last hired and first fired. In some cases, colleges would not accept African-Americans simply because they were African-American, and for no other reason. And by the way, if Black people had come to the USA the same way Asians did, maybe they would have behaved like Asians. One thing you must understand is that this is a totally different dynamic we are dealing with as far as sociological and historical factors are concerned. In fact, Cornell West came out with a book about alot of this called Race Matters. It talks about many of the reasons for pathologies among many African-Americans. And to end this paragraph, what you are saying is that there is no "individualism" and that everything is about "the group"? I would like to know.
And no racism against Native Americans, well, this is a question I need for you to answer. Why is it that historically, there has been an "assimilation" or "reservation" policy towards Native Americans while African-Americans were basically told to keep out? There has been no "assimilation" policy for African-Americans. The idea was to bring Africans over as slaves and nothing more. Once African-Americans were no longer slaves, it was still considered a "bad thing" to intermarry with African-Americans. In fact, historically, in Oklahoma, Whites could marry Native Americans but African-Americans could not. This is not just something that happened yesterday. This has been an ongoing problem since this nation began. That is MY point.
And by the way, I can only be responsibly for myself, my family, and my friends. I can tell them not to be criminals. None of them are. All I can do is tell people not to be criminals. However, that is the best I can do with what I have. My worry is for African-Americans who are decent, hardworking people. I don't think you would know what it's like to be Black in America, so how can understand certain things. Also, I am NOT sorry that I am Black. I have no reason to be sorry for being Black. I was born that way and I wouldn't change it for the world. That said, this is what I am upset about. I am upset that there are people who truly believe that they feel that racial discrimination is a good idea. Those are the persons I don't want running the government or businesses.
I don't go by the "life isn't fair, get used to it" stuff. I'm not Bill Gates. My perspective is "life isn't fair, learn to fight back". Being discriminated against for the color of one's skin makes one's life harder. Why should a person's life be harder simply because of the color of their skin? Please answer.
The rapports that we have had over time, I would have hoped that you figured out that I'm NOT ghetto, I'm not lazy, I'm not a druggie or a criminal. I try to stay away from that stuff. In fact, alot of people describe me as "the Black kid who acts White". I am making my individual choice not to be a stereotype. For many, their perception is nice. For some other people, it hasn't been nice. I still have alot of memories in my mind about some of the White kids who made the "Carlton Banks" jokes about me, asking me to do the dance, comparing me to Carlton in a disparaging way. One kid even made this joke:
This kido you know your father?
Me: Yes
This kid: Does his live with you?
Me: Yes
This kid: Then you're White!!
This joke came from a White kid. A college student of all people. There have been Black kids who have made fun of me for the way I talk, the fact that I liked reading books, and some other things about me that were not "Black enough". On the whole, not living up to the stereotype hasn't freed me from being perceived in a bad way. I am choosing not to be a stereotype, to dress in a nice pair of slacks and a dress shirt because it's my style. I listen to classical music, old school R&B, read National Geographic, learn French, because these are choices I make. This is all me, individual me. I know that the minute I appear upset, I could be perceived in a bad way. I learned this in college. All I had to do with roll my eyes at some women in an office and the police were called.
If a person doesn't have good grades, then it's understandable why said person can't get into college. I am talking about people who have all of the qualifications but still don't get the job because of their skin color. What does one do about that?
And I don't believe that limited government will end racism. All I have to do is look at history. When there was a relatively limited government, African-Americans were basically owned as property in the South, and some northern states. If anything, limited government can allow for more racism because those persons who are racist can act on it openly, and do nefarious and despicable things. All I have to do is look at the history between 1776-1965 to let me know this. I am thankful the feds stepped it up and passed the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act. If it wasn't necessary, then African-Americans would have been able to vote in every state in the first place. However, because this wasn't the case, these said acts were necessary and a way to make sure this nation lives up to its creed of treating everyone equal under the law.
There is racism everywhere, in every State. You will not notice here as much as you would in the deep South. I have lived in Mississippi and Florida, and if I was with another white person they would use the N word as though it were okay. I hated it. I grew up in CA and live in OK now. I didn't hear any racist comments until Obama ran, and then my CA friends said that they were hearing the same. All I can say is in OKC you may not notice it as much, in a small town you may. Here some Native Americans are against whites and vise versa. Don't allow this to be a determining factor in your move, although I would say if you told me that you were moving to MS I would say if racism bothers you, don't move there. Here you will find some people still referring to Blacks as Colored. But I have not heard the N word.
Racism does exist in every state. However, where I live, I have heard the N word before. It's been shouted at me from a car a few times.
Interesting that you mention President Obama. Where my parents live, it's about a Republican stronghold and around 75 percent White. Most of the African-Americans in that county vote Democrat, and this election wasn't much different. My father is a Democrat and African-American. When the victory went to Barack Obama, we were so excited, a Black man in the Oval Office for the first time. My father never thought he would live to see it, and neither would I. He felt like this nation was changing for the better. What he learned was that the more things change, the more things stay the same. My father warned me not to go out at night for a few weeks because there might have been some resentment towards African-Americans. His concern was that I might get shot and killed by someone who had a problem with Black people as a result of the election.
green-mariner, i can understand your dad's feelings. i thought the same thing when obama was elected, but then when all the racism poured out, i realized it hadn't changed much. we lived in mississippi in 95 and were told by a realtor to not call on the phone about a house but to go in person so they could see that we were white because they won't rent to blacks. and here i thought this was of the past. i hated the south for those reasons.
green-mariner, i can understand your dad's feelings. i thought the same thing when obama was elected, but then when all the racism poured out, i realized it hadn't changed much. we lived in mississippi in 95 and were told by a realtor to not call on the phone about a house but to go in person so they could see that we were white because they won't rent to blacks. and here i thought this was of the past. i hated the south for those reasons.
I can as well. For that one moment, I thought things had changed too, but I think the difference between me and my father is that he has lived longer. It doesn't anger him as much because he's lived it in a different era. He graduate high school in the early 1970's in the North. For him, racism and discrimination had a different meaning. When he moved to the South in the 1980's, he saw a different side. He remembered what he saw in his childhood and what he saw in the South of the 1980's. For him, racism was of a different nature in the South. He knows it exists in the North as well as the South, but for him, the South was a different nature. He noticed a "know your place" kind of mentality that he wasn't used to.
The stuff that I saw was of a different nature. I saw people making very racist comments and then swearing up and down that they weren't racist. It just reminded me that things haven't changed that much, just the way it's brought out has changed. Personally, I feel kind of stuck in the South. I don't have the money to go elsewhere, so I'm here until I get enough money to move. And there are other reasons I want to leave the South, at least Georgia.
Great posts, Green-Mariner! It's amazing how you have to present yourself in a way, like wearing dress slacks, for instance that someone who isn't African American doesn't think twice about. I think that what so many people who aren't of color fail to grasp are the initial perceptions that people will have about someone based solely on their race.
Actually, there are other things being said, and "Asian" is merely an umbrella term. You have Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese, Laotian, Cambodian,Indian, Pakistani, etc. There are bad things that are said. There are people who don't like Indians and Pakistanis running the gas stations. In some places, many people don't like Hmong and Vietnamese people, citing reasons such as gangs particularly.
And historically, immigrants from Asia were treated horribly, especially the Chinese and Japanese. The reason Japanese-Americans and Chinese Americans have their rights now is because it started with African-Americans standing up to the government and telling the government "we won't take anymore crap from you".
Redshadowz, I don't believe you when you say racial discrimination is caused by stereotypes. This is why. Racial discrimination is a historical problem in the USA. It has been going on since this nation began. If you look at American history, it's pretty telling. African-Americans have been discriminated, stereotyped, "Jim Crowed", and basically hated on for years. In alot of cases, African-Americans were last hired and first fired. In some cases, colleges would not accept African-Americans simply because they were African-American, and for no other reason. And by the way, if Black people had come to the USA the same way Asians did, maybe they would have behaved like Asians. One thing you must understand is that this is a totally different dynamic we are dealing with as far as sociological and historical factors are concerned. In fact, Cornell West came out with a book about alot of this called Race Matters. It talks about many of the reasons for pathologies among many African-Americans. And to end this paragraph, what you are saying is that there is no "individualism" and that everything is about "the group"? I would like to know.
And no racism against Native Americans, well, this is a question I need for you to answer. Why is it that historically, there has been an "assimilation" or "reservation" policy towards Native Americans while African-Americans were basically told to keep out? There has been no "assimilation" policy for African-Americans. The idea was to bring Africans over as slaves and nothing more. Once African-Americans were no longer slaves, it was still considered a "bad thing" to intermarry with African-Americans. In fact, historically, in Oklahoma, Whites could marry Native Americans but African-Americans could not. This is not just something that happened yesterday. This has been an ongoing problem since this nation began. That is MY point.
And by the way, I can only be responsibly for myself, my family, and my friends. I can tell them not to be criminals. None of them are. All I can do is tell people not to be criminals. However, that is the best I can do with what I have. My worry is for African-Americans who are decent, hardworking people. I don't think you would know what it's like to be Black in America, so how can understand certain things. Also, I am NOT sorry that I am Black. I have no reason to be sorry for being Black. I was born that way and I wouldn't change it for the world. That said, this is what I am upset about. I am upset that there are people who truly believe that they feel that racial discrimination is a good idea. Those are the persons I don't want running the government or businesses.
I don't go by the "life isn't fair, get used to it" stuff. I'm not Bill Gates. My perspective is "life isn't fair, learn to fight back". Being discriminated against for the color of one's skin makes one's life harder. Why should a person's life be harder simply because of the color of their skin? Please answer.
The rapports that we have had over time, I would have hoped that you figured out that I'm NOT ghetto, I'm not lazy, I'm not a druggie or a criminal. I try to stay away from that stuff. In fact, alot of people describe me as "the Black kid who acts White". I am making my individual choice not to be a stereotype. For many, their perception is nice. For some other people, it hasn't been nice. I still have alot of memories in my mind about some of the White kids who made the "Carlton Banks" jokes about me, asking me to do the dance, comparing me to Carlton in a disparaging way. One kid even made this joke:
This kido you know your father?
Me: Yes
This kid: Does his live with you?
Me: Yes
This kid: Then you're White!!
This joke came from a White kid. A college student of all people. There have been Black kids who have made fun of me for the way I talk, the fact that I liked reading books, and some other things about me that were not "Black enough". On the whole, not living up to the stereotype hasn't freed me from being perceived in a bad way. I am choosing not to be a stereotype, to dress in a nice pair of slacks and a dress shirt because it's my style. I listen to classical music, old school R&B, read National Geographic, learn French, because these are choices I make. This is all me, individual me. I know that the minute I appear upset, I could be perceived in a bad way. I learned this in college. All I had to do with roll my eyes at some women in an office and the police were called.
If a person doesn't have good grades, then it's understandable why said person can't get into college. I am talking about people who have all of the qualifications but still don't get the job because of their skin color. What does one do about that?
And I don't believe that limited government will end racism. All I have to do is look at history. When there was a relatively limited government, African-Americans were basically owned as property in the South, and some northern states. If anything, limited government can allow for more racism because those persons who are racist can act on it openly, and do nefarious and despicable things. All I have to do is look at the history between 1776-1965 to let me know this. I am thankful the feds stepped it up and passed the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act. If it wasn't necessary, then African-Americans would have been able to vote in every state in the first place. However, because this wasn't the case, these said acts were necessary and a way to make sure this nation lives up to its creed of treating everyone equal under the law.
>>>>>
I am choosing not to be a stereotype, to dress in a nice pair of slacks and a dress shirt because it's my style. I listen to classical music, old school R&B, read National Geographic, learn French, because these are choices I make. This is all me, individual me
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I can as well. For that one moment, I thought things had changed too, but I think the difference between me and my father is that he has lived longer. It doesn't anger him as much because he's lived it in a different era. He graduate high school in the early 1970's in the North. For him, racism and discrimination had a different meaning. When he moved to the South in the 1980's, he saw a different side. He remembered what he saw in his childhood and what he saw in the South of the 1980's. For him, racism was of a different nature in the South. He knows it exists in the North as well as the South, but for him, the South was a different nature. He noticed a "know your place" kind of mentality that he wasn't used to.
The stuff that I saw was of a different nature. I saw people making very racist comments and then swearing up and down that they weren't racist. It just reminded me that things haven't changed that much, just the way it's brought out has changed. Personally, I feel kind of stuck in the South. I don't have the money to go elsewhere, so I'm here until I get enough money to move. And there are other reasons I want to leave the South, at least Georgia.
I was in a Buddhist group when we lived in Memphis. Both of my friends in it were black. One of the women told me that she preferred the South to Portland, OR because at least in the South she knew what people were really thinking. I don't know, I think I would rather not know somehow. My brother, who lives in Portland, OR said that he thinks that people there and in CA are just being politically correct. I think that being politically correct goes a long way to helping people change their views, or maybe a short way, but it is a start.
I hope you can save enough money to move. I missed the post about how you dress and what you wear and learn. You sound like an interesting and intelligent person. I thought to learn French in college because for me it was a status symbol, but I took Spanish instead because I wanted to travel to Mexico and did. Thought of taking tennis for the same reason, but never did, and am glad I didn't since I hate games. I thought these things would help me catch a doctor. Ha. I dated them and was so bored. Ended up marrying a cowboy type of guy who was not boring but was also intelligent.
I think moving starts with dreaming where you would like to live and never letting go of the dream. And making sure that where you move is the right move. Before I came here my friend, who used to live here, claimed that Oklahoma wasn't racist. Well, like I said, it isn't as much as some places. Still, blacks have their own neighborhood. But at least here people are not so open about it. What I do think is nice is that there is a black man here that is on the streets, has a serious mental condition, and people don't chase him off but give him money even though his family helps. At least people here are that caring. (He does have a family that got him an apartment, but he pan handles.) I think many years ago this man would have been victimized.
I also have seen people in the South making statement about not being racist. One woman said, "I am not racist, but I would never rent to a black person." I have listened to a lot of denials during this two years of Obama while living where I do here and of course, reading the political boards on City Data, but with their denying it. Even here I went to a woman's house with my friend because she wanted to deliver something to the woman. While talking to the woman she said, "My Mexican didn't come to work today." I wanted to say, "Can I buy me a Mexican too so I can own one." I am trying hard to learn to have tolerance for these people.
I was in a Buddhist group when we lived in Memphis. Both of my friends in it were black. One of the women told me that she preferred the South to Portland, OR because at least in the South she knew what people were really thinking. I don't know, I think I would rather not know somehow. My brother, who lives in Portland, OR said that he thinks that people there and in CA are just being politically correct. I think that being politically correct goes a long way to helping people change their views, or maybe a short way, but it is a start.
I hope you can save enough money to move. I missed the post about how you dress and what you wear and learn. You sound like an interesting and intelligent person. I thought to learn French in college because for me it was a status symbol, but I took Spanish instead because I wanted to travel to Mexico and did. Thought of taking tennis for the same reason, but never did, and am glad I didn't since I hate games. I thought these things would help me catch a doctor. Ha. I dated them and was so bored. Ended up marrying a cowboy type of guy who was not boring but was also intelligent.
I think moving starts with dreaming where you would like to live and never letting go of the dream. And making sure that where you move is the right move. Before I came here my friend, who used to live here, claimed that Oklahoma wasn't racist. Well, like I said, it isn't as much as some places. Still, blacks have their own neighborhood. But at least here people are not so open about it. What I do think is nice is that there is a black man here that is on the streets, has a serious mental condition, and people don't chase him off but give him money even though his family helps. At least people here are that caring. (He does have a family that got him an apartment, but he pan handles.) I think many years ago this man would have been victimized.
I also have seen people in the South making statement about not being racist. One woman said, "I am not racist, but I would never rent to a black person." I have listened to a lot of denials during this two years of Obama while living where I do here and of course, reading the political boards on City Data, but with their denying it. Even here I went to a woman's house with my friend because she wanted to deliver something to the woman. While talking to the woman she said, "My Mexican didn't come to work today." I wanted to say, "Can I buy me a Mexican too so I can own one." I am trying hard to learn to have tolerance for these people.
I think my father and your friends have some different views, but I can understand where your friends are coming from. They wanted to know where they stood. With my father, he really didn't care. His stance was "If you don't like me, whatever. Just don't put it out there like that. Let me live in peace". My sociology professor had an African-American colleague from Chicago. His perspective was that he didn't care if White people liked him or not. He was more worried about what people might do to keep him from getting where he wanted to be in life. In short, it wasn't just the name calling and general dislike. It was also discrimination he was worried about.
My personal perspective is this: I want to be liked. I wanted to be treated as an individual and not worry about stuff like discrimination. And there are individuals who have treated me as an equal, as an individual, who were happy to see me not live out those stereotypes. On the other hand, I have also met some bad individuals who have done some bad things.
As for moving, well, I have wanted to move since I was 14 or 15. Being a big geography enthusiast had alot to do with it. I would see places like Seattle, New York, Montreal, Paris, Amsterdam,Tokyo, Honolulu, California, and other place. I would see things that those places had, and what Georgia didn't have, at least the part of Georgia I was living in. I remember asking my mother about why Atlanta didn't have a decent mass transit system, when I was 15. My mother couldn't give me an answer.
It didn't help that I was experiencing racism where I lived. Where I lived, it was 50-60 minutes from Atlanta but a different world. As a teenager, I wanted out. I didn't fit in for many reasons. I was also a bored teenager. Rural Georgia(1 hour minutes west of Atlanta) didn't provide much excitement for me. I also figured if I left, there would be no racism where I was going next. Well, a few years of reading and deeper research into history lead me to find out otherwise. I started to learn there was racism everywhere else all over the world. After a while, I kind of gave up on the thinking that racism of any kind would end once leaving the South. Still, there isn't much of a reason for me to stay once I graduate from college. I have had my own cultural adjustment issues(particularly in my teen years). I think right now, one of the biggest factors is the relative lack of bicycle friendly places, the climate, severe allergies, and in general, a need to see different places.
I hope to save some money to move. There are times when I feel like I don't fit. It depends on where I am at a certain point.
As for how I dress and what I'm learning, well, I have been keeping it this way since high school. I got to a point where I kind of knew I wasn't going to fit in. I just decided to do my thing my way. What did I really have left to lose? Some of my teachers had respect for me. Some students did as well. However, there were those students who saw me as "Carlton Banks", the "weird" person, and in general, found some reason to poke at me.
I wanted to learn French because I thought of it as an interesting language. For me, it proved to be an easy language to learn. I had fun with it. I saw this as an opportunity to go places, see things. My father told me if I kept my grades up, he might finance a study abroad trip. Well, 9-11 and a layoff from his job effectively stopped that. He eventually went to Europe for a a project that was part of a newer job. He said he had a different feeling being in Europe. He didn't feel like everyone's eyes were on him all the time like as opposed to what he might feel in the USA. He's even talked about living in France or Switzerland a few times.
As for Oklahoma, I would not imagine Oklahoma being on the same level as the Deep South as far as racism goes. Then again, my father was telling me that things change once you go west of the Mississippi river. I figured it was being more western.
I have never heard anyone say stuff such as what was said about Mexicans. However, I have heard some other things not so nice. On the one hand, Mexicans(and other Latin American immigrants) are often valued as a source of labor for some people. On the other hand, many people complain about illegal immigrants. That same mentality towards Mexicans, it sounds alot like a similar attitude towards African-Americans in the 1950's.
Over all, it is rhetoric such as what I see from some persons on City-Data that make me upset.
Great posts, Green-Mariner! It's amazing how you have to present yourself in a way, like wearing dress slacks, for instance that someone who isn't African American doesn't think twice about. I think that what so many people who aren't of color fail to grasp are the initial perceptions that people will have about someone based solely on their race.
Good luck and hang in there.
In some cases, there are persons who will think twice about it, wondering about one's "authenticity" when it comes to being Black. Oddly enough, I wondered why some college students thought this way, seeing me dress in slacks and business casual. A friend of my put it like this: "Many people are used to seeing Black people a certain way. It isn't that they like other persons better than you, but more they aren't used to dealing with you. You are an intellectual, you don't crack jokes about a woman's 'backside', you speak in a way that isn't considered stereotypical, you have different interests. Some people have a hard time conceiving a Black person being this way". His final message being "All you can do is be you".
I think the reason many people fail to grasp it is because it isn't something to admit to.
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o you know your father?
