#notblackenough

I am too dark for some And not dark enough for others I lack soul to some And I have too much soul for others that, They can’t even step in sync with me on the same street, And my presence reminds them of lightening And sadly some hate thunderstorms.

So I’ve let the rain surround me as I walk alone, But the rain washes away my unsure nature And I become confident in who I am, And I become gold, Better yet I become honey.

Gold can crack teeth and it leaves a lasting impression It can’t be so easily broken but, Honey? That thing sticks right on to you, You won’t know how to shake me off, I will bend and pour and ooze from every pore of your life until you get so sick of something so naturally sweet you won’t have any other choice but To use those lemons life threw your way. And I will squeeze the sour choices you made into my honey complexion and make organic lemonade

So maybe I do not fit the norm for any race, Not even with my own And maybe the difference in my diet leaves a bad taste on your tongue, But that leaves me unforgettable, That leaves me as the honey of your life, And I’ll be stuck on your mind, Maybe as the girl who never fit your type But I won’t be alone for too long For a bee never rejects its own source of nutrients But thrives off the honey, And the queen has a lot to offer , but never begs for her people to take

Black Americans, what does it mean to be black in America? I’m a human being with various cultural & ethnic backgrounds & have been accused in the past of being ashamed of the pigment of my skin (though a lighter shade) by people of a darker hue than myself. I was accused of being ashamed of being black because I don’t prescribe to dressing “black,” speaking “black” or listening to “black” music (mostly rap). I never understood the mindset of black Americans who would claim I’m not black enough or ashamed of being black because I don't act “black.”

What does it mean to be black in America? To truly understand this question you have to go back in history when our African ancestors arrived to this country in chains, stripped from their life of freedom & forced into slavery, serving the white man & satiating his every whim.

What took place as our ancestors were brought to this country by force? Our ancestors were forced to abandon their native tongue, to adopt a white name in place of their native name, to abandon their religion & forced into accepting Christianity by the white man & forced to assimilate into white culture. Thus, erasing what it truly means to be “black” in this alien & foreign country. What black Americans think it means to be “black” is actually an illusion, because our identity was stripped away from us as soon as our ancestors arrived in this country & replaced with a fusion of white mentality & a new assemblence of black identity.