Good Morning World!!! Still cant sleep, so I might as well ramble on… I finally have the time to share thoughts on the Clarence Page article. This article was spot on. I just want to briefly highlight my thoughts on the article.
I want to discuss three points in a not so long fashion: the white friend, showing your color, and color blindness.
Page struck a nerve when he talked about his white friends and their parallel lives. Page talked of how they grew up playing together, but as they got older he noticed that their realities were different. That is so true. I remember growing up with a couple of cool white friends but I quickly noticed we were living different realities even though we were going to school together. We even played together. I, like Page, noticed that our weekends went different. They would rattle off all of the exciting things they did over the weekend, and I had nothing to say. The tone in which they talked about things. Their aloofness of what was going on in society was noticeable. They had the option to not have to be engaged, they were white. Issues of inequalities and police brutality was not a topic of conversation in their homes and that became obvious. It wasn’t that we stopped liking each other. Our lives that were parallel separated us.
Every Black person knows what “showing your color” means. Showing your color is a funny thing. In a sense, like Page explained, it can denote the worst stereotypes of Blacks. In another context, it could mean your sense of being culturally proud. That within itself presents another problem, because white America has historically deemed that inappropriate. So it is a weird position to be in. It is a sad position that one has to be in while negotiating American life. It would be lovely to be able to express racial pride without it being quelled or looked at as a strike against me. This is something that I still need to wrap my head around. This only perpetuates the race problem even more.
Lastly, I want to discuss the issue color blindness. It doesn’t exist. Even in 2016 segregation still in full effect. The thought of living in a color blind society is an absolute myth. America is not as diverse as it like to portray itself. We have many different people here, but there lives do not intentionally intersect. New anti-Black stereotypes have replaced the old one. Blacks still live in a society that judges us based on our skin color. It is hurtful that we as Blacks still have to have “The Talk” with our kids. This is America but our kids are not allowed the same youthful innocence. When we gather together, white America still feels threatened for some odd reason. So we still have a long way to go.
In closing, I must say that this article was refreshing. It was extremely thought provoking. I wish there would come a time when I could feel like I am a total part of America. When will the time come when I can have white friends without the burden of race? When will America be at peace with Blackness? PEACE!!!
ofomarthethoughts 