As long as I know, POC ask the same question “Is it because I am black?” When I was growing up, I never asked myself that question. I grew up in a black society, and in a middle class black family rooted in Black History, Black Achievement and Black philosophy.
So for me, questioning blackness was never an option.
Today I hear that question asked in so many ways whether re black fashion, black family, black scientists etc. by different people.
How did we get here?
So I look back to Syl Johnson (1970) who sums it up well —
Somebody tell me, what can I do
Something is holding me back
Is it because I’m black?…
But you keep on putting your foot on me
And I, I believe, I believe I can break away…
And be somebody, somehow, and someway
Oh, it ain’t right, it ain’t right, it ain’t right
That they hold us, hold us, hold us back
They’re holding us back, they’re holding us back
I wonder, sometimes I sit down, sit down and I wonder
Anywhere we look the question haunts us even now in 2021. Many of us ‘sit down and wonder’ what, why, how is this still a reality. Recently we saw the Kwaito queen of dance, Chomee from South Africa, after becoming an influential Board member in the Local music industry, asking “Is it because I am a black woman?’ as she denies receiving millions from National Arts Council for her personal NGO.
Or
Lindsay Peoples Wagner asks in her article, What it’s really like to be black and work in fashion, “How far have we really come in fashion if a black woman I’ve never met is advising me to dim my blackness so that I can continue to have a seat at the table?” In The Cut
Or
Alannah George and Anala Beevers both 4 yrs old with IQ’s of 140 and 145 respectively and Ramarni Wilfred 16 yrs old IQ score of 162, higher than Albert Einstein’s and Stephen Hawking’s. I ask “Is it because they are Black why the world knows nothing about this”?
Or
The famous case of the Black world sprinter Jesse Owens, with his historic win at the 1936 World Olympics. Now immortalized, his story tells us of the racism experienced at the hands of the very country he was representing, the USA.
And the stories keep coming…
But as we ask the question “is it because I am Black”, blackness works in two ways.
Being black works in two ways.
Firstly it can be the cause of exclusion which is experienced physically or cognitively. Keep her under control or He must work extra hard as far as we will let him., or They are Black no one needs to know, as we see from our examples.
Secondly it can be an agent that propels you to go where others fear to tread. So either we are idolized after death or treated as a token.
The Second way is unfortunate, but it is through this way that many have been able to enter fields such as fashion, science, sports and politics. And although entry may have been as a token, many have paved the way.
They have opened up a possibility for other blacks to follow.
The first way however, is the continued practice of othering, and the exclusion is always explained by conflicting messages of who is to blame.
More often it will be the Black person or, the native of a Black nation. The people are left to cry out! Like SylJohnson says:
Oh, it ain’t right, it ain’t right, it ain’t right
That they hold us, hold us, hold us back
They’re holding us back, they’re holding us back
Remember to read part 1 and part 3 of this post right here at the same https://www.eawpublications.com/parenting