There’s
been a lot of talk recently in the news about Mike Freeman’s article in the Bleacher Report on Russell Wilson, the quarterback of the Seahawks. Specifically the portion of the article that
says Wilson’s black teammates don’t think he’s “black enough”.
Oh
shit.
While
I don’t often write about race as a topic on Brick Sandwich, this situation
touched a nerve and I feel compelled to speak up.
First,
this whole notion of not being “black enough” is an insidious problem in the black
community. These rules, this credo, it’s
like another world underneath the world, established by black people, used
on other black people.
I understand the rules like a native language, but when I've attempted to explain the rules to non-black people…articulating the ins and outs…
it sounds like the stupidest shit I've ever heard. By the confused looks on my friends’ faces,
it sounds just as crazy to them.
The
"black enough" criterion is steeped in racist stereotypes, where street
cred is more important than college cred.
It’s pseudo gangster – for both men and women. There’s
definitely a hard veneer attached to the persona. No room for softness. Should you deviate from the acceptable
standard, you’re seen as some sort of a race traitor and in some circumstances,
you could be actually be ostracized. If
you don’t fit the bill, you’re slapped with the “trying to be white” label.
Yes,
people really say that.
As
ridiculous as it may sound to people that aren't black, some things are widely designated
for white folks only:
Any
winter sport.
Sushi.
Any
music that isn’t hip-hop, R&B or Jazz.
Skydiving.
Any
running that is not from the police.
Surfing.
Dude
ranches.
NASCAR.
Kentucky
Derby.
Racquetball.
Line
Dancing.
Minnesota,
Maine, Nebraska and Rhode Island.
Howard
Stern (yes, I know he’s got Robyn on the show, but she’s basically been labeled
a white man’s whore. I could devote an
entire post to my issues with this name, but I digress…)
The
list can go on and on. If you’re dealing
with some real ignorant motherpuckers, the list descends into the everyday
things we all take for granted, like trying to get a manager position at work
or finishing your degree.
I’m
not kidding.
Obviously,
it’s a fucking problem.
Like
any other race, black people aren't just one thing, but it’s like some of us
don’t know that. We’re in
everything. We like all kinds of food,
music, places to travel. We’re CEOs,
criminals and everything in between – just like everyone else. Holding on to this bullshit notion of
blackness does nothing to strengthen or uplift black people, but yet we persist
in perpetuating the stereotypes.
Charles Barkley has been the most recent black celebrity to voice this opinion, but I've heard or read about similar comments from others: any black person that’s doing
well for themselves (or at least relatively better than most of the people that
they know) have had to deal with this at one time or another.
It’s
like a leash, or rather a noose that we've fashioned for ourselves, to keep us
tethered. To what, I don’t know. Some would say our culture. I don’t buy it and think that people who
really go out of their way to tell people they’re not black enough know
fuck-all about black culture.
