i’ve always said that being black is very hard.
we are a special race of folks,
but we deal with the most every single day.
we witness white folks enjoying their privilege on a daily.
bad enough,
we have to deal some with our own jackals and hyenas as well.
well on this week’s podcast on “insidejamarifox: the podcast“,
the topic was…
“It’s hard Being Black”
…and it was an interesting discussion.
i was in my feelings and tried to articulate myself the best way i could.
we also spoke about:
- matthias mckinnon and his tik tok video
- mo’nique vs oprah
- gayle king and her debacle with kobe bryant
either way,
i hope the foxhole checks it out.
we are now on all major streaming platforms including spotify:
and now being available on apple podcasts:
x CLICK HERE
…along with google podcast:
x GO HERE TO LISTEN
and many others.
the foxhole is “out here out here“.
check out this link at ( x anchor ) to be taken to all the various sites.
low-key: we went from like 100 listens to 4,000 in a week.
thank you foxhole!!!
I think the Black community in America is very fresh. School segregation ended in 1969. That was only 50 years ago. Laws passed to end discrimination against Black hair were passed last year. So, after having our last names, identity, culture stripped from us, we are still trying to find ourselves.
So when we talk about Black culture it’s usually sports, music, the arts, writing. When we meet other Blacks not from America, there’s a disconnect. When other ethnicities come here, it’s important to them to retain their culture. The San Gennaro Festival in New York is for Italians. There’s a Chinatown everywhere. There isn’t this “Eww, we’re in America now, abandon our culture”. It may be abandoned in public, but at home, they go back home to their culture.
So there’s resentment from Black people born here. There’s resentment from international Black people who don’t identify with Black American culture. Many Black Americans say International Black Americans don’t deserve to be here. So if you go to a “Black” company, and most of them are from African nations…will they have your back?
I’ve seen Black Americans complain Jamaicans, Nigerians, etc didn’t have their back and only look after their own. So if they stick together and we’re not part of their Blackness, who will look after you? If every Black American is for themself, who will have your back?
Something else to consider, just because there is someone Black in power, doesn’t mean they identity with Blackness. Also, while it may appear a Black company, it may be owned by non-Black people who only allow Black people in power who will act as if they were not Black.
And yes, we are magical, based on what we have survived.
So, I think we need to define what Blackness is and who we will support and band with. Is Black anyone who is not White? Is it just dark skin? Do wealthy Black people have the same experience as working class Black people? The Black middle class is growing quickly, but where are these families? Do they live around other Black people? Or have they moved to a “nice neighborhood” to raise their children in?
There are so many factors, so there’s no one answer, but we definitely need to find some commonality and band together and be less divisive. Jewish, Chinese, Japanese groups were mistreated and are now forces to reckon with. However when one of us gets put on, suddenly “it’s not about race”. So when other cultures band together and force you to deal on their terms, it shows how new we are to being Black. Are we Black? Are we American? Do we identify with Blackness when we see another Black person? Or is it competition.
As far as sabotage, the problem with the Black community is…we will put more effort into sabotaging another Black person who is where we want to be than sabotaging someone of another race. We are told we have one token spot and compete for it. I think when we stop asking and start investing in each other, and believing in each other instead of “oh, you’re a financial risk despite having a sound business plan” emotionally and financially and realizing we don’t have to step on each other to win, we might…find we have time for first world problems.
Japanese were mistreated during World War II and now are one of the tech capitals of the world. The Jewish had the Holocaust and now control Hollywood and much of the financial sector. We need to find SOMETHING to have in common, to work towards a common goal so that we’re all good and not just a few having wealth, while telling the others to stop complaining and work harder, while ensuring nobody can come for our token Black throne.