Both of my parents are from a predominantly black city in Georgia called Albany. Now part of it is… pretty bad. A lot of gang related activity, poverty, and terrible school systems. Some of Albany is the stereotypical ghetto. The kids aren’t going anywhere, single mothers who are poor, crack heads, and homeless families.
I’m SO grateful my dad and mom got out of there and allowed my brother and I to live a MUCH better life. unfortunately, my family still lives there, and unfortunately my brother and I are white. Every since I was two years old my family has never hesitated to say I sound like a white girl. I never understood this.
This is a problem I’ve always had growing up (not so much now): people calling me a white girl because I didn’t sound like an idiot. Now that I’m older I can’t help but be annoyed at the ignorance of the black community who insist on calling black people who speak proper white!
So this is to all the ignorant people who has ever told a black person they sound right. And this is to all the people who’ve self-loathed because they were told they are not black enough, or spoke like a white person.
Here’s my first issue: self degradation. By telling another member of your own community they sound like a white person, you’re only degrading your race, implying white people are more articulate. I resent this so much because this is the type of thinking that only fuels stereotypes and and promotes self-hatred!
My second issue: What makes you get to determine what a black person should be like? As a matter of fact I think you’re less of a black person. Our ancestors fought so hard for our civil rights. How dare you not go to school, how dare you not vote! Since anyone can determine what a black person should be like, I declare a real black person is grateful and understands the struggle our ancestors had to go through. So I take full advantage of it and I go to school and I vote and I try to make myself a better person and live up to the dream. So to me, I’m more black. What does that make you? A fool.
Third issue: What does a white person sound like? Just curious because I’ve spoken to many white people from many different regions and they all don’t sound alike. Senior year of high school I was sitting in the hallway with the rest of the debate team talking, and across the hall there was a girl and she proceeded to tell her friend (loud enough for me to hear) “she sound like a white girl.” I stopped, turned to her and replied, “Oh really, what does a white girl sound like?” Of course she stared at me blankly and I said, “That’s what I thought, and I sound a lot better than your ignorant @$$.” excuse my language!
The Bottom Line: A person who is articulate and educated doesn’t have to be white. And a white person doesn’t have to be educated and articulate. The black community will slowly progress as long as there are people who still think there’s some kind of measure of what a black person should be. I’m a black person because of genetics, the way I speak has nothing to do with it. Instead of setting this low standard on ourselves, why don’t we encourage and support each other? (Wishful thinking, I know). So to who all the people who think they’re black because they purposefully speak terrible English, don’t go to school, commit crimes, or any of the other negative stereotypes we have to live by… I have something to tell you: you’re a disgrace.
Is she a white girl? She looks pretty black to me. Just saying.
