Hello what followers there are out there! (sorry about the weird background, not sure why that happened!)
I'm excited to invite a colleague and friend to post a reflection on here. This friend has recently ready Why Are All The Black Kids Sitting Together In The Cafeteria by Dr. Beverly Daniel Tatum. For me this book was the door to a much more meaningful train of thought and I'm happy to share the reflection of Karmen Kurtz (be sure to hit her up with your thoughts below or on twitter at @kreall). Personally, I want to thank Karmen for being so courageous to share this reflection.
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The sentence read: "The contortions a successful African American has to make to fit in but stand out, to be strong but not to intimidate or frighten, to be black enough but no to black". I had never felt such an intense connection to a quote, one that acted as a catalyst for reflection on my life and my identity. The CNN article that it had come from was on black males graduting from University, but for me, it was the begging of my identity development as a young black woman. It was not until a few hours ago that I had a legitimate term to attach to race-related cognitive dissonance. When Dr. Tatum discussed identity development in adolescence I found my self shouting out in affirmation as a read. Over the past six months I have been in constant discord with race and where I stand in my Blackness. I've been pushed to unthinkable lengths when it comes to my personal experiences with mulit-cultural affairs.These experiences of adversity have forced me to reevaluate my existence as not only a black woman, but a black advocate. I am just now beggining to identify my role in this whole thing; I need to to shift my focus from trying to be the paradigm of a black girl who bears the weight of her entire race on her shoulders to the black girl who understands that blackness doesnt look the same,can maintain her own identity, and is courageous enough to bring up racism in her sphere of influence. I may sound like I have it all figured out but honestly, I dont. I have a long way to go before I can really find my truth and be able to articulate my truth even when the circumstances may persuade me to remain silent. So right now I am trying to find security in my racial position.That means teaching myself the things about my ancestors that have been omitted from my history books. That means internalizing the reality that "there is more to Africa than Tarzan movies and that there is more to Black History than victimization". I can't wait. I can't wait to learn more, I can't wait to grow, and I cant wait to teach. I have found out early on that in this self discovery comes a lot of deeply rooted emotion;feelings that have been illegitimized and pushed aside for years are aroused with a sort of gentrified fervor. I paused my reading last night to watch a video clip to which Dr. Tatum referred and I felt an unparalleled connection to the words that the man,Victor, spoke in the clip (see below) . I was moved to tears. Not because the reality of the system of racism is sad but because until the moment that video ended the truth in Ella Baker's quote "The struggle is eternal. The Tribe increase. Somebody else carries on" hadnt registered to me.
The Color of Fear - The Red Ground Scene
This process will undoubtedly be trying but its something I feel most African American youth go through without the eloquent framing of Dr.Tatum. Ultimately, I have the leg up by having read Why Are all the black Kids sitting together in the Cafeteria?. I have been exposed to the stories and experiences of other just like me and I have been given a guide to finding myself in a racial context. And I understand now, better than ever, why all the black kids are sitting together in the cafeteria and I know that that is ok.
Huge thank you again to Karmen! You inspire me everyday!
I'm excited to invite a colleague and friend to post a reflection on here. This friend has recently ready Why Are All The Black Kids Sitting Together In The Cafeteria by Dr. Beverly Daniel Tatum. For me this book was the door to a much more meaningful train of thought and I'm happy to share the reflection of Karmen Kurtz (be sure to hit her up with your thoughts below or on twitter at @kreall). Personally, I want to thank Karmen for being so courageous to share this reflection.
-----
The sentence read: "The contortions a successful African American has to make to fit in but stand out, to be strong but not to intimidate or frighten, to be black enough but no to black". I had never felt such an intense connection to a quote, one that acted as a catalyst for reflection on my life and my identity. The CNN article that it had come from was on black males graduting from University, but for me, it was the begging of my identity development as a young black woman. It was not until a few hours ago that I had a legitimate term to attach to race-related cognitive dissonance. When Dr. Tatum discussed identity development in adolescence I found my self shouting out in affirmation as a read. Over the past six months I have been in constant discord with race and where I stand in my Blackness. I've been pushed to unthinkable lengths when it comes to my personal experiences with mulit-cultural affairs.These experiences of adversity have forced me to reevaluate my existence as not only a black woman, but a black advocate. I am just now beggining to identify my role in this whole thing; I need to to shift my focus from trying to be the paradigm of a black girl who bears the weight of her entire race on her shoulders to the black girl who understands that blackness doesnt look the same,can maintain her own identity, and is courageous enough to bring up racism in her sphere of influence. I may sound like I have it all figured out but honestly, I dont. I have a long way to go before I can really find my truth and be able to articulate my truth even when the circumstances may persuade me to remain silent. So right now I am trying to find security in my racial position.That means teaching myself the things about my ancestors that have been omitted from my history books. That means internalizing the reality that "there is more to Africa than Tarzan movies and that there is more to Black History than victimization". I can't wait. I can't wait to learn more, I can't wait to grow, and I cant wait to teach. I have found out early on that in this self discovery comes a lot of deeply rooted emotion;feelings that have been illegitimized and pushed aside for years are aroused with a sort of gentrified fervor. I paused my reading last night to watch a video clip to which Dr. Tatum referred and I felt an unparalleled connection to the words that the man,Victor, spoke in the clip (see below) . I was moved to tears. Not because the reality of the system of racism is sad but because until the moment that video ended the truth in Ella Baker's quote "The struggle is eternal. The Tribe increase. Somebody else carries on" hadnt registered to me.
The Color of Fear - The Red Ground Scene
This process will undoubtedly be trying but its something I feel most African American youth go through without the eloquent framing of Dr.Tatum. Ultimately, I have the leg up by having read Why Are all the black Kids sitting together in the Cafeteria?. I have been exposed to the stories and experiences of other just like me and I have been given a guide to finding myself in a racial context. And I understand now, better than ever, why all the black kids are sitting together in the cafeteria and I know that that is ok.
Huge thank you again to Karmen! You inspire me everyday!
