No Glory in "Blackness"

Trip told the 54th Regiment to "tear it up!"

A symbol of inequity, insult and degradation, each soldier held up his wage slip, and tore-that-bad-mamma-jamma-up-baby! They were not being paid their worth. I love the movie Glory. I love that scene. I love that statement - don't let your worth be determined by others!

In comes "the Black card." You know the card I'm talking about.

"What!? You went skiing? I'm going to have to take away your 'Black card'."

I say, take it. "Tear it UP!"

I don't want the Black card.

The Black card has an insufficient limit. Very little credit. Yes... it qualifies us to analyze the lyrics of Dem Franchise Boys. ...but the Black card also causes diabetes. It leaves one susceptible to carjacking. Owners tend to have angry dispositions.

I'm good. "Tear it up!"

I had to drink Kombuchi tea this weekend. My stomach was killing me. Why? Because I ate fried chicken two times last week. My body was having a sit-in..."no justice, no 3 pieces of chicken!"

I work for a school in Newark and celebrations tend to include chicken. I didn't even want no chicken - rather "any chicken". I didn't. But I also didn't want to be judged - a member of the black bourgeoisie - so I ate the damned chicken. That was the first day.

Day 2, the chicken was from Popeyes. It smelled good and I was hungry. I ate the chicken.

Dave Chappelle said that Black people and chicken are very fond of one another. Maybe that's true.

Making a few bad decisions is understandable. Forgivable even.

What I don't understand is my co-worker's response the following week.

I said, "Girl, I'm trying to live right. I ate fried chicken two times last week. I hadn't eaten fried chicken in three years. My stomach is hurting. So I committed to eating oatmeal for breakfast, fruit or salad for lunch and a hearty soup for dinner all week."

She said, "If you say one more thing like that, I'ma take your black card!"

She made the comment in mixed company, in the main office of the school. ...so I thought, before I responded.

I wanted to yell, "Tear it Up!!!!" in protest.

Ok.

I did.

...because I'm tired of Black people, especially women hating on any pursuit of healthy living. That has to stop. Half of the problem is mine. i own that. I have to stop caring. Caring drove me to eat the chicken in the first place.

Blackness should never lead to unhealthy decisions. The very function of culture is to proliferate. We must abandon any such bastardization of our culture. I can't understand the crabby assertions that Black is anything reckless. I'm good.

Tear it up.

So the next time someone says - in jest or all seriousness:

"Black girls don't swim."
"Black people don't eat sushi"
"Girl, we don't read."
"Black girls don't run."
"Yoga? You ain't Black"
"I don't need no passport, I got my Black card"

Tell them to "tear it up!"

The crazy irony about this situation is that the week prior to the chicken nonsense, the same woman took one look at my natural plaits, which where really cute, but not jelled down, and said "Oh Lord, here comes Celie!"

It seems like a common tension. Am I TOO Black - not coifed, extended, ironed into a mold of your expectations, OR am I not Black enough.

I say Black is as Black does.

Live your healthiest, most fulfilled, most productive life and let's call that Black. Bet.

Anytime someone makes such an insult, or tells you that striving to be better, healthier, more loving, more kind is not Black...look at them like Denzel is looking at the brother in the picture above.

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1. This post is dedicated to my girlfriend Ayanna, whose knee-jerk reaction to any injustice, big or small, was "tear it up!" Thank you AG!

2. I support responsible indulgence in a delicious piece of fried chicken. No chickens were hurt in the writing of this article. In fact, the picture above came from a delicious sounding recipe, that I might try. All in moderation.