#StayWoke: 7 Lessons About Blackness Ya’ll Need To Learn STAT
It's cleat that we have a lot of learn.
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The Library Is Open - Looking at the unnecessary backlash against actor and activist Jesse Williams for “being 'lightskin' while woke,” proves that in 2016, we have a lot to unlearn about what Blackness is and what it isn’t. Let us help you. By Kellee Terrell(Photo: Kevin Winter/BET/Getty Images for BET)
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Your Skin Tone Doesn’t Define How Woke You Are - The blacker the berry doesn’t mean the woker the juice. Advocating for racial equality and being down has nothing to do with how dark one’s skin is nor does it negate who can speak on our behalf and who can’t. Just ask Black revolutionaries Angela Davis and Kathleen Cleaver. (Photo from left: Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images, Larry Busacca/Getty Images)
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Having a White Parent Doesn’t Shield You From White Supremacy - Yes, having a white parent may shape how you see yourself as a Black person in America, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that changes the way white America sees you. Yes, you may be lighter, but that won’t protect you from racial bias and police violence, i.e. Tony Robinson Jr.(Photo: Tony Robinson Jr. via Facebook)
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You Can Be Black and Latino at the Same Time - This silly notion of not being Black enough also ushers in this topic. Latino is not a race, it’s an ethnicity, not to mention, African slaves were brought to counties such as Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Cuba, etc. Just ask Dascha Polanco, Zoe Saldana, Christina Milian and countless others who all are clear that they are Black too. (Photo: Christopher Polk/Getty Images for LARAS)
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Blackness Isn’t Just One Thing - Blackness isn’t about how we talk, what music we listen to, what we wear, whether we have a relaxer or are natural or whether we grew up in the 'hood. Blackness isn’t based on the superficial. It’s a mindset that is a fusion of our experiences, our pride and our love for our people and our culture. Which leads us to…(Photo: Patrik Giardino, Getty Images)
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You Don’t Really Love Black Folks If You Don’t Love All of Us - It’s interesting how folks are worried about Jessie Williams’s skin tone, but then won’t date someone who can’t pass a brown paper bag test. If you're as “woke” as you say you are, that means you need to love all and ride for all of us — dark, light, hetero, LGBT, female, male, etc. True Blackness is fighting for equality for all of us, not just you. (Photo: Mario Tama/Getty Images)
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Light Skin and Dark Skin Are Not Two Different Races - Yes colorism is real and extremely harmful. But when did we start undermining Black folks’ contributions because they are light? Better yet, when did we lose sight that we are all Black? We all experience oppression, harassment, systematic oppression and microagressions in our daily lives, right? Glad we cleared that up(Photo: Ari Perilstein/Getty Images for The Weinstein Company)