When Black people discuss Blackness, we do so with deep sincerity. Blackness is complex and felt physically—deep in our bones, through our pores, and at the tips of our hair. The outside world often seeks to diminish us, undermining our inherent confidence to weaken our sense of self. Often, the concept of inclusion is mistaken for conformity, starting with self-deprecation and feelings of alienation in social settings. This reflects the long history of whiteness: using propaganda to divide communities. The prospect of inclusion and the chance to align with power often come at a high cost, especially when it means breaking apart our community from within.
How can one define Blackness? It embodies a multitude of qualities: a diaspora of gentle, courageous, loving, resourceful, resilient, fractured, extraordinary, frustrating, hopeful, and tranquil people. Blackness represents a community that is profoundly targeted, constantly caught between love and enduring fear. Navigating a world filled with systemic barriers and dangers, Blackness moves forward with dignity and resolve, despite fear lurking behind. These elements and more illustrate what it signifies living in Blackness.
Blackness symbolizes grandiose thinking. It resides in skin of every shade, tone, size, and shape, beautifully smooth, resilient, loved, hated, plotted against, and soft, serving as a shell that contains profound magnificence. When tragedy strikes, it aims to humble us through familiar reproaches: “You are too high and mighty,” “Remember where you came from,” or “You are getting too big for your breeches.” These are falsehoods designed to justify harm toward Blackness, trying to break the resilience of God’s strongest people.
What happens when strength and perseverance fall short? How do you tell your children why others resent their beautiful skin, hair, and lives? When will your accomplishments be sufficient to feel safe from fear when seeing red and blue lights? No matter how much we struggle for proximity to whiteness, it will never fully ensure our safety.
History reveals the colonizer’s strategy: appropriating others’ gifts, then exploiting and destroying cultures for profit. Whiteness employs fear-mongering to rationalize its failures and mask irrational fear and hatred as envy of Blackness. They leave behind what was once thriving, fertile, and plentiful. These actions are well-documented and often lauded as victories, but they cause severe harm to communities.
Blackness continues to face significant victimization, with hate propaganda ingrained in many societies. At the same time, there’s a conflicting urge: the wish to be near Blackness without genuinely engaging with it. This contradiction appears daily in TV, music, and media portrayals. Society often cherry-picks Black cultural elements to appropriate them, while ignoring Black humanity to rationalize exploitative actions.
It is crucial to acknowledge the intergenerational scars and fear-driven reactions that create patterns we often fail to learn from, ultimately harming us internally. We need to dedicate time to healing the wounds caused by whiteness on Black culture, which is frequently rooted in jealousy of our strength and resilience. This envy shows up as fetishization of Black bodies, hair, clothing, and style, as discussed earlier.
The promise of whiteness has historically been the end goal in this ongoing race. Even as Blackness comes close, it consistently remains just beyond grasp. Many overlook the sacrifices involved in trying to get closer to whiteness. When will these sacrifices be recognized as sufficient? What more must Blackness surrender at the altar of whiteness? The perceived power in this system is never shared equally; it remains vested solely in one authority.
Recent weeks have seen numerous reports of child casualties, often stemming from a false sense of safety. Many families believe that demonstrating their worth by being close to whiteness, living, working, and socializing in the same neighborhoods, shopping at the same stores, and vacationing at popular destinations gives them security. However, this sense of security can be deceptive. It’s crucial to listen to that inner voice warning you to stay cautious and to share concerns with family for safety during interactions. Sadly, too often, history and warning signs are ignored, allowing harm to reenter our communities.
Now is the moment to reshape the story. The call to action urges Blackness to remember its power and brilliance. We must stop ignoring the signs, signals, and cries in the night that warn us to pause and reevaluate, as our current path is flawed. It’s time to rethink the ideas that have guided us for years. Recognize that the change we seek will be challenging, but ultimately, it will be worth the sacrifices.