(ThyBlackMan.com) Big dark Black men like me shouldn’t be able to read at a college level in elementary school. in some minds being writers since childhood is simply beyond the biological reach of such types. That I am both and more is dismissed as a fluke, sorta like five leaf clovers. Big dark Black men are usually assumed automatic athletes ( as was my father, who hurtled alleged DNA barriers in order to be a 15 year old high school graduate ). Little minds next assign criminal or manual laborer as other prime directives. Ones to the contrary who’re lighter skinned are presumed intelligent by virtue of ample White ancestry. My combination of size and hue caused discomfort to convenient presumptions of limited Black intellect. It’s fun to see fear on faces of racists who are less capable than you.
As a Southerner this was one of my favorite spectator sports. Changing times have made this game less frequent.
Black men are often considered less intelligent than our peers. Credentialed Black men’s CVs are often dismissed as fruit from Affirmative Action’s 
poisonous tree as defined by the pathologically prejudiced. The fact that America’s first ” Black ” president has a White mother speaks volumes about the boundaries of cross over appeal for Black male intellectuals. No disrespect to her memory nor the president but the question must be asked.
The same holds true for large dark skinned brothers. We’re the villain in America’s racial plot, fodder for every low brow assumption imaginable. Again, America’s first ” Black ” president is not a dark hued person. Not hating, just a statement of fact. A cursory review of EBONY magazines 100+ Most Influential Black Americans also reveals a dearth of dark achievers. This ugly baggage still weighs heavily upon how our potential is recieved by the marketplace.
While unpopular among liberals of all shades, America’s most powerful big dark brother, US Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas proved one can break the Color Curtain’s preference for light African-Americans. While uncomfortable size/skin tone prejudice needs frank discussion. While every category of Black person experiences racism, those in this volatile class risk uniquely negative treatment. Everything from increased police brutality to higher workplace discrimination can be laid at the hooves of this particular prejudice. Big dark Black men are the boogie man used to whip itself into a frenzy. We embody old and new fears of racial retaliation and intermarriage. Our presence still causes cold sweats across the railroad tracks.
Big dark Black men are targets. Developing strength of limb at the expenses of evolving strong minds brightly lights the proverbial bullseye some consider our tone and size. Being disproportionately targeted by law enforcement seeing this combo as red flags for criminality means big dark boys and men should arm themselves with legal knowledge. Workplace targeting argues in favor of knowing personnel policy and applicable employment law. Interracial relationship targeting suggests rapid egress when your female partner even suggests publicly alleging sexual impropriety. Given historic, even life-or-death targeting of big dark boys and men the old saying ” Better safe than sorry ” assumes new urgency.
While I love our color diversity, I’m glad God made me a big dark Black man. It repudiates every myth we’re wild animals on the loose. The dilemma of big dark Black men ultimately becomes Black America’s critical dilemma. In this scenario we can either be targets or titans.
Period.
Staff Writer; Nadra Enzi
Learn more about this brother over at; Captain Black.
