(ThyBlackMan.com) How often have we been commanded by someone or some entity with the words, “Black folks represent!” I don’t know about you, but this writer is oh so tired of this calling to arms for us to ‘Represent’. Sometimes I just wanna be ME! I don’t want to represent all black women nor do I know how! Why is it that Black people have to be the spokespersons or standard-bearers for all things Black? I never hear Caucasians, Latinos, Asians or other ethnicities so often being held to this concept of being or acting a certain way to represent their race. And what makes it more controversial is that this ‘call’ is mainly made by Blacks to Blacks. I think it’s time for us to re-think this phenomenon.
What exactly does ‘represent’ mean? Does it mean that as a black woman, we need to be fiery, neck-rolling, snap-talking sisters? Or does it mean we are 
supposed to be the nurturers and virtuous care takers for the rest of society? Does Beyonce or Rihanna or Lil Kim represent YOU? Should they? Even in corporate America, I have found this call to represent. I, like no doubt many black women, have often found myself in situations where colleagues come to me with a problem or issue that affects everyone in the office. What happens is this: the rest of the group comes to us (usually the only Black woman-or man) and asks us to go to management about that issue. The reasons typically given have to do with our ‘strong personality’ or our ability to ‘tell it like it is’. Why is it that we get pushed to the forefront to do the dirty work? I think it is because society has labeled us as the people who can best be confrontational. It’s a backhanded compliment and assumption based on our so-called skill at ‘representing’. Did anyone ever stop to think that maybe we are just as mortified or intimidated as they are? Not hardly.
The other side of the coin is when our Black peers demand we ‘represent’. This often means they want us to act, dress or behave in a certain (i.e. stereotypical) way. Whether it’s in our profession, leisure activities or even in a relationship, we tend to be told to demonstrate our ‘blackness’ in a particular fashion. Black Hollywood actors tell many stories of being denied roles because they were either ‘not black enough’ or ‘too black/ethnic’. Even in our everyday lives, we get admonished with standards of blackness. We’re supposed to ‘get down’ a certain way. We’re supposed to enjoy certain foods just because we’re Black. Well what about those of us who prefer salmon over catfish? What about those of us who prefer techno over hip-hop? What about those of us who cannot dance? ENOUGH OF THIS!
‘Representing’ becomes misrepresentation when we don’t celebrate the wonderful diversity of Black culture. It becomes misrepresentation when it stifles our creativity and individuality and holds us to some false set of values or behaviors that others have arbitrarily assigned as ‘black’. It diminishes us and is a slap in the face of our humanity. Don’t get me wrong, we are (and can be) many of those stereotypes. But we are also MUCH, MUCH more than that. And it’s up to us to decide how, when and why we incorporate and celebrate the full gamut of who we are.
So represent it all. Don’t limit yourself. Let’s represent the fullness of ourselves organically and not because someone has told us what that representation should look, or feel, or sound like. I represent ME. What about you?
Staff Writer; Emma M. Turner
