“How come Black people get a month and they never even contributed to anything meaningful in America?” part 3 of 4

Part Three: Black peoples’ contributions to the world

Directly After Slavery:

• Jim Crow Era

• New Jim Crow

Black History continues - A new narrative

• Modern day

  • When we Became Black People poem

    • We became Black people only when our identity was erased and even we could no longer trace the lineage of our grandmothers and grandfathers features in their face . We became Black when it was said that our origin didn't matter, only our labor, our work ethic , our bodies for pure profit. 

      We became Black people when we were deemed as subhuman or not human at all, just dirty foul beasts that deserved the torment, isolation and erasure of our true ethnicity and precolonial culture. We became Black people when the screams of our suffering alluded to no help, no rescue however, perhaps profitable as entertainment.

      We became Black people when we no longer could recognize ourselves beyond our colors and shared trauma. We became Black people when we saw no point in embracing who we are and forgetting where we come from... Atleast you wouldn't be called an "African booty scratcher"...

      We became Black people when the world viewed us as invisible, undesirable heathens that deserve unimaginable fates, based on the color of one's skin. We became Black people when privilege was just being treated as human but since we didn't look like their version of GOD, inhumanity and brutal unattainable debts were created to be paid but for what?? 

      We became Black people to give others a sense of pride in not being Black people....We became Black people to create the idea of White people ...pure people that deserve to be treated as decent human beings, given chances and the priority of the best resources of the land.

      We became Black people to segregate who is worthy of what and  who isn't...

      But who are we outside of this idea of BLACKNESS & WHITENESS?

      What is your real name outside of ASSIMILATION, WHITE SUPREMACY CULTURE & internalized colonial ideologies?

      We are not JUST Black people, we are so much more - Black history month is not JUST February and Black history is not JUST stories of pain and suffering....

      Remember who you are...because when we became Black people, we also had to give up what it truly meant to be a FREE HUMAN BEING.

      • Today, many Black Americans carry the weight and stain of what it means to be Black. Often times, we are compared to other groups that have experienced slavery, trafficking and other unfortunate circumstances in America and the question is brought up again and again —- why don’t you just pull yourself up by your boot straps?