To Develop: Blog 365 Day 51 – Afraid to Be Black
By Jiddoe S'Phatt
Warmest greetings! My name is Jiddoe S’Phatt. Welcome to day
51 of “To Develop: Blog 365”.
Inspiration to write comes from a number of places. For this
blog I’ve been inspired by hip-hop artist Rick Chyme and producer
David K. Manley of Man@Work Productions. Through a collaborative project
titled #DailyPieces365
these two artists will release a new song every day for 365 consecutive days!
Their impressive dedication has motivated me to write a new blog every day of
2018.
A little piece of me goes into each entry I write. I hope
you enjoy this one!
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There was a time I’d walk in a room, be the only Black
person there, and honestly think nothing of it. I was little. I didn’t know any
better. But you know what you learn, if that makes sense.
I’d mingle, talk with people I was comfortable talking to
and just be myself.
After I got a little older I was told Black people weren’t
always as welcome as I thought. So I started paying attention. I’d see the disapproving
looks. I’d notice the difference in how I was being spoken to. I found out police
weren’t always fair to those who shared by skin color. I learned enough to
significantly disturb my comfort.
For a moment in my life I was afraid to go certain places and
attempt certain activities because I was Black.
After I got a little older, after gaining experience from
simply living, what I was told about Black people not always being as welcome
as I thought lost its sting. I still believed it. It was true. But it’s a ridiculous,
silly truth. I respected it because in some places, in some situations, you
have to. It’s the same for a White person, or a person of any other ethnicity
entering a space where they were the vast, even the extreme minority. But I no
longer feared it.
Wherever I go I’m going to me. Who I am may be enough to
change how it’s felt about what I am.
Most of all I won’t ever
be afraid to be Black.
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