(ThyBlackMan.com) I remember hearing my grandma tell me stores about the “colored” water fountain. You see being colored was not a part of a social group…it was another word used to describe black. Which at the time, and even now, can be considered one of the hardest things to be in America…or the world depending on who you ask. I recall she didn’t care for the term because she wanted to believe she was more than just “colored” in the eyes of white people in this country. She wanted her humanity to be recognized, and she knew her humanity meant nothing. Two of her brothers were brutally beaten by white people that were never arrested. Today when we say People of Color it covers everyone in this country that isn’t white.
There are certain kinds of oppression that all non-white people in this country experience. The silencing and disenfranchisement is real. However, other groups become more vocal about their plight it seems as if black people are to be less vocal…or include other groups. When we focus of self or make statements about our fight in this country, we can be accused of acting as if our plight is the hardest…or we are dinged for trying to have a monopoly on struggle in this country. We are not to say on many days the weight of being black…colored in this country is heavy to bare.
Being black in the United States is its own issue that we don’t share with any other group. When the discussion comes up, we are sometimes told about conditions in other countries. Please know that many black people have a heart that goes out to people facing oppression in other countries. With that being said we can’t stop bringing awareness to the plight of the American born Black. Some in other groups don’t have the facts on oppression while being black because the education system is controlled by the ruling class. There are many black folks that will stand with other people of color while acknowledging some of them will make the same arguments as white people when our people are killed by law enforcement. We are considered weak in the eyes of some groups because we are still dealing with the fall out from slavery and Jim Crow. No one is doubting the oppression of other groups but if their shoes were the same as ours, they would understand the uphill battle. Too many people in the is country the idea of black people as a brand…but don’t respect the people
I’m convinced POC doesn’t include black people because we are not all standing in solidarity. We’ll be told we are apart until we start looking at the situation of our existence in this country, and the silence of POC. Too many lies about black people are believed. Please don’t tell us you stand against us because you’ve had a bad encounter with a black person. We are not allowed to make the same accusation…we’re expected to see others as individuals…and stand with them.
The majority of black people born in this country don’t have a home culture to refer to…that was stolen from us. Black people in America had to build a culture in this country to sustain them while being hated, oppressed, and killed. This is not the same plight. Maybe it is time black people work together amongst ourselves to deal with the issues we face in this country. Those that choose to stand with us will, but we must get to a point where we are okay if we are standing alone. Colored will always have a different meaning for us.
Staff Writer; Chelle’ St James
May also connect with this sister via Twitter; ChelleStJames.