Being Called Black = Being Called a N***er [Reflection/Blog]

blackhistory After doing some reading up on Black History I will no longer consider myself as a Black human being. I am African American. After reflecting on the actual meaning of the word black (vs the word white which is usually synonymous with clean and/or pure), I feel being called Black may be more detrimental to African Americans than being called a N***er.

From birth we are called Black or referred to as Black People. But should we allow ourselves to be defined by the below definition?

Definition of Black according to Dictionary.com:

1. lacking hue and brightness; absorbing light without reflecting any of the rays composing it.
2. characterized by absence of light; enveloped in darkness: a black night.
3. soiled or stained with dirt: That shirt was black within an hour.
4. gloomy; pessimistic; dismal: a black outlook.

I/We are none of the above.

If you still do not understand where I’m coming from insert any of the below words in front of the word “People” (i.e. “Dirty” People).

Synonyms
1. dark, dusky; sooty, inky; swart, swarthy; sable, ebony. 4. dirty, dingy. 5. sad, depressing, somber, doleful, mournful, funereal. 7. disastrous, calamitous. 9. sinful, inhuman, fiendish, devilish, infernal, monstrous; atrocious, horrible; nefarious, treacherous, traitorous,

I would even go as far to say that the “N” word can be inserted in to the above list of synonyms.

I’M NOT BLACK I’M AN AFRICAN-AMERICAN AND WILL NO LONGER BE ASSOCIATED WITH THE NEGATIVE IMAGERY AROUND THE WORD BLACK. Secretly my/our psyche is being poisoned by this word.

SO ARE YOU BLACK?

BLACK HISTORY 2013

Asa

Good post. Think it will challenge me to rethink the use of black- perhaps colored is better in light of your post. I would suggest that most words are social constructions and are built upon mores of the society. In a dualistic white-dominated society, black would be the obvious opposite. White as Snow is synonymous with purity and wholeness. However, what if the society IS black- say as in certain sub Saharan indigenous societies. People like Sheik Ante Diop, John Henrik Clarke and others make arguments that certain traditions saw blackness as health and strength and when ‘white’ folks arrived, they were viewed as sickly and death.

Don’t know how much truth there is in their claims, but given that words mean what we want them to mean, the question is “How has our view of blackness and its appropriation for the African Diaspora peoples affected our self assessment? AND is that an intentional product of the slavemaster’s work.” In other words, Can I be Black….and Proud????”
http://www.facebook.com/people/Kimberly-Erwin/649567850 Kimberly Erwin

Please, don’t go backwards and use colored. Use a ‘real’ meaning designation. If you can’t find one–come up with one. Multi-colored is not being used at the moment. hahaha. God bless us all.

BTW: There is real truth to that message. Out of darkness, comes light. And that comes from the Scientists of the day–of whom the majority are of the ‘lighter’ hue.