the fact(s) of blackness

After watching this clip, from the bomb satire CB4 I was immediately reminded of my time at college and how righteously black(West Indian, Aframerican, pan-African, internationally African American) I felt. At first it was if just being there was like doing my bit to further DuBois dream. Then after my first semester of freshman year I learned that I would have to be a little more than just a black undergrad, I would have to become a (hood) scholar and work harder in order to go further to truly live the dream and come into my inheritance left to my by my Grandmother and the other immortal souls of those who've come before and made a way out of no way.

So basically my fact of blackness was never no secret. After reading a post from my homie's blog
about his own journey into race consciousness I realized a little more that "race" and how we identity it and how we see ourselves within its constructs depends almost entirely on whether you come from the majority or a minority group. When one is white, the concept of race is understood in kind of a vague way, perhaps not a primary identifying factor (I'm guessing here guys, so feel free to add yo' two cents). But for me, a black woman I've lived my race in ways that my white brothers and sisters haven't been asked to by and large.

Unlike my freshman year when I felt the need to almost perform my blackness - coming from high school in Harlem and a childhood in Bed-Stuy into the new reality of Amherst, Mass I wanted to prove my "authenticity". (Whatever the hell that was supposed to mean, but it looked like fresh kicks and a Northface or snorkel for my NY folk) But four years hence, mad black studies courses later and after vibing with black/brown folks in Brazil, Trinidad, London, Chicago, etc... I've come to believe the words of Ngugi wa Thiong'o (thanks for the book J) - to paraphrase from The Wizard of the Crow - the secret of black power is unity in blackness.

I gotta figure out a way to sneak in a little bit of Decolonizing the Mind in my classroom this fall.