3 Ways Black People Hold Ourselves Back
February 10, 2010 by Anilia
Filed under featured, motivation, personal development
In honor of Black History Month, I thought it fitting to write about ways we as black people tend to hold ourselves back. I find it ironic that after facing slavery, Jim Crow and the Civil Rights movement, we find ways to keep ourselves and other black people from succeeding. If anything, we’d want to succeed to prove that racists are wrong about us, right?
1. Black People Don’t Do That
Have you ever wanted to do something adventurous, such as sky dive, go white water rafting, learn rock climbing or go camping? Were you studious as a child, and told that you ‘talk white’, think you’re a white girl or boy, or called an Oreo? Have you ever been told that something you wanted to do – such as visit Europe, learn a non-Romance language, eat certain ethnic foods or listen to music other than hip hop, R&B, blues, jazz or gospel – was something that only white people did?
There is absolutely nothing wrong with wanting to follow any pursuit or interest that does not harm another human being. I don’t care if you want to be a goat herder in the Swiss Alps. Who cares if its not something that black people traditionally do? One thing is that, if there hasn’t been a black person to ever do it, there would be such a sense of racial pride by you accomplishing that feat. Another thing is, what was the point of our ancestors struggling, protesting and dying for us to have equal access to education, any social arena and any economic opportunity, only for black people to bar the door for other black people? This is one thing that I was subjected to when growing up and it has never made sense to me. I was always told I could grow up to be anything I wanted to be… but then black people told me I couldn’t do certain things because black people didn’t do them.
Yeah, okay.
We have enough work to do to stop holding ourselves back – I’m not going to anybody’s ideas, regardless of what color they are, of what black people should and shouldn’t do hold me back. And you shouldn’t either. Unless the purpose of your life is to satisfy the black race, instead of being happy and contributing to the good of mankind.
