The Pressures Of Growing Up Black In Today's America
An in-depth interview with a good friend and member of the community sharing her experience of growing up as a young black woman in the world.
With Black History Month ending today, I wanted to do one last piece to celebrate and speak more vocally about topics concerning the community. Before I do that, I wanted to remind everyone that I did update my Playlist Of The Week section and that this week's playlist is comprised of exclusively black artists as another way to represent. Furthermore, the POTW section will be updated every Friday starting next week. Since, I just created this one as a special Black History version, I wanted to give it a little more time.
Moving on.
Today, I present to you another strong, young voice in the black community. My good friend and future director, Ananszah Goodie. Here is a link to a fantastic scene she just released:
With all of the great accomplishments of the black community, not enough women of color get recognition. No matter the race, everything seems to center around men and that sucks, because we're ignoring that fantastic and powerful women that have done so much and will continue to do so much.
In today's article, I'll be interviewing Goodie and allowing her a space to give us insight into what it's like to be a young woman in the black community. Pay close attention, because what she has to say is important and I know her and I know that she will become a very powerful and influential woman.
Without further ado, here is that interview.
I'd like to begin by asking you to tell me a little bit about yourself. What was it like growing up and what were some of the challenges and struggles you had to face?
Well, growing up in a semi-suburban middle class area always had it's challenges. For one thing, it was very obvious to me that I was different when I was the only black person in class or hanging around in my neighborhood. Eventually, it just became the norm for me to be one of the few people of my race at school. I never got teased for my skin or color. (I believe it's because I'm light skinned because I knew another girl who got teased and she was noticeably darker than me.)
However, now growing up, I've come to realize the internalized dissatisfaction with how I looked compared to other kids of different races. My school had a majority of white and Asian kids and they all had straight hair. They would pride themselves on how long it would grow and how long they could braid a pony tail. I remember complaining to my mother all the time because she put braids in my hair and I wanted it straightened like the other girls in my school.
Let me tell you, it was a hassle and my perm didn't even last a day. That would mark the start of me unconsciously favoring whiteness and Eurocentric looks over my own.
That was a lot to deal with, especially at such a young age. What kind of pressure was put on you?
There was always a pressure to act a certain way. My mother taught me and my sister morals and manners. She would go really hardcore about being polite and acting like we got some sense. Being in a white dominated school with fewer black people, I was always expecting people to judge my whole race based on how I acted. Even now I feel the need to show that black people are more than just stereotypes in media.
However, back in elementary school I was naive and believed that in order to be accepted and represent my people, the best way was to act and look like everyone else at school. In other words, rejecting my culture and accepting a new one. It wasn't as bad as one may think, but it's something that I struggled to unlearn.
In the suburbs, some people make blackness and black culture something to be ashamed of, which is fucked up because we aren't doing anything wrong. There is nothing wrong with looking and being the way we are just because people don't like it or don't understand it.
A common thing when growing up in the community is being told not to act "too black" around certain people or they won't like you, as well as other people saying that you aren't "black enough." Did you ever have to deal with that?
I've never actually been told to behave a certain way around other people. I used to always try and "whiten" my voice when meeting people in high school. I once heard some of the members of the theater group I was in bad mouth people who use slang and "talk like this." (They used a racist black accent.)
I can't believe you had to witness something like that. It's horrible how some people choose to degrade the community. Racism in anyway should never be tolerated. How important is it to be active in the community?
I think it's very important. You gotta find out what you can help with and do for your people. I mean, it took me till the end of high school to really understand how much the black community really has each other's back, but honestly that is what has got us this far and that is what's gonna get us even further.
I completely agree. We as a community should always stick together. We are stronger as a whole.
I'd like to thank you for telling your story and to conclude, I just wanted to ask if you have any last thoughts. What would you like to say to the next generation of young black kids who are coming into this world?
One thing I would like to say is to stay strong and remember you can do anything if you're willing to work hard for it. Learn from your struggles and know that you won't be suffering through them forever as long as you keep on your grind.
Mistakes are meant to be lessons. It's okay to make them, but always learn from them. And finally, get educated and get elevated!
Hopefully, this interview was helpful. Not everyone has the same experiences and it's important to acknowledge that and try to understand things from another person's perspective.
Thank you again, for allowing me to use this platform to share this information and to give a voice to those who don't have one.
It would be awesome if future generations aren't faced with the same problems as us. The children could just be themselves and be accepted by everyone because at that point, the way you look or where you come from won't matter, but I'm getting ahead of myself.
For now, just don't be an asshole. Okay?