I've been kind of quiet on the blog lately (more on that in another post soon to come), but I did want to make this post, as the BHM posts are kind of an annual thing on here. This will be an on-going post through-out the month, and I'll be adding to it.
Like the last few Black History Months, I won't really focus on any individual whose achievements I want to highlight. This year, I'd prefer to focus on recent history, and where we are after the nation-wide protests that began over a decade ago after George Zimmerman murdered Trayvon Martin. The rights gained, the backlash, what we've learned as a country (and a species), and what we've chosen to ignore.
A couple of recent incidents and policies and what-have-you really inspired me to write this piece.
The first was the end of race being used as a consideration in college admissions (which happened about a half-year ago). While I agree with the notion that race shouldn't be the sole factor in admissions (which is a totally rhetorical notion, and has rarely, if ever been practiced in the real world), the fact of the matter is that considering race is just as important as considering gender or sexual identities, social class, country of origin, and other things that colleges and universities can still use as considerations during the admissions process.
It seems odd to me that race wouldn't be a consideration in admissions to universities, especially when you consider that it was well into the 1960's (and in some cases, the 1970's) before most universities even started allowing Black people to be in their student body at all. That's not a long time ago. We're talking 60 years or so. That's not a long time ago. I'm 44 years old. People who were born on the cusp of full desegregation of schools (including colleges and universities) were getting their first driver's licenses when I was born. 60 years is not a long time ago, and a lot of people involved in enrollment decisions are well older than myself. Some of those people (not all) will still hold segregationist and racist beliefs. So it's still an issue, and we still have to actively make sure that colleges and universities are making an effort to enroll Black students so that we can ensure that Black people are represented in institutions and careers that require college/university-level degrees.
Update: 8 Feb:
I got a little side tracked by some personal stuff (more on that in a different post), so I sort of lost my train of thought after posting the above. Such is life. It's not like I get paid to do this, so I'm not too worried about it.
Anyway, lately I've been thinking about my experience as a mixed race individual and how complicated it is. I thought this might be a good time to play a game. The game is called "Guess Who's Got 1 Black Parent and 1 White Parent".
Here's the game card:, and the answers are below.
I was thinking about my experiences with other people when I tell them I'm one-eighth Black, and instances where I'll have one person ask me if I'm sure I'm not half-Black and another person tell me I'm 100% white. People really get confused by the way genetics and the physical expression of genetics (phenotype) work. I mean, if there's this much variance in people who come from one Black parent and one White parent...skin colour and genetics aren't like mixing paints. And it's more complicated than those little "mix a white rose and a red rose" work sheets you get in 6th grade biology, where you do like WR, RR, Rw, wR in squares. And it's weird how people who went to school with a (as in 1) Black person are all the sudden experts on race, genetic expression, and what constitutes Blackness.. Shit, even Black people forget people who look like me were in the same neighbourhoods and schools during segregation. It really lends itself to making people who are of mixed race and have ambiguous features/pigmentation feel alienated by everyone. There's a lot of time where I discuss (in person or in writing) racial issues, and just feel like "neither side likes me or wants me in their camp, so why am I even bothering?". I speak on Black rights because I care, and racial equality is important and is something to be fought for by everyone, regardless. But there are times when I'm being told by Black people that I'm either not Black enough (or at all) or I'm being called the n-word by white people (unless they want to charge me with criminal abuse of a table with a letter sized envelope, in which case I'm 100% Caucasian), and it's just like....fuck. It's just so...I don't even know the word. It's more than alienating. It's more than feeling isolated. I don't have a word for it, and it's hard to explain...but it's just like even if you try to be like "Fine, none of you want me, you can all leave me alone", but they never do. I dunno. It's one of those things that makes equal rights even harder to attain, because there's Black people who won't let people like me fight for "Our rights". And it's like...so I have to get all the bullshit made-up ass police charges and face all the racism, too...but I'm relegated to "White Ally to Black People" status while I'm getting called the n-word? Or people accusing me of lying about my racial make-up to get "benefits", even though I'm just claiming my actual genetic heritage.
It's just so frustrating. People don't want you in their group, but they don't want you in the other group, and if you try to just walk away and be apart from both groups (as opposed to neutral) they won't let you do that either.
This isn't really going anywhere, I just had to get that off my chest. And it is representative of part of the Black experience (especially in the Diaspora), so I guess it's relevant to a post on Black History Month. But, for now, that's all I really have to say about the subject.
Update 24 Feb:
Just saying I'm done with this post. I don't have anything else to say about racism... or anything else, for that matter. I'm done with people (Black, White, and all colours in between). I'll elaborate on this in a forthcoming post, but for now I think it's enough to say that all people are trash, and there's nothing good about any of you and none of you are worth fighting for (or against).
Update 1 March:
Since people always think the worst of me, I will clarify that saying all people are trash does NOT mean I'm going to go crazy and try to hurt people. I feel no over-riding hatred towards people. I also feel no need to help people in any way. I just don't want the company of others. People do a good enough job of harming each other and ruining each others lives. They do a good enough job of creating and nurturing a world of conflict and abuse. They don't need my help in doing that. I can just sit back and let my time expire in peaceful isolation.