Black Enough?

What makes one person "blacker" than the next? What does it mean to be black? Who started this nonsense about being black enough?

I read an article by Vanessa Grigoriadis entitled, "Black & Blacker". Hmmmm.... Which immediately made me think about Dumb & Dumber. One was dumb. The other one was more dumb. Michelle and Barack. One is black. The other one is more black than the other?

First of all, why is it an issue? The truth of the matter is that Barack is the Democratic nominee for the President of the United States of America. Barack happens to be a black man. But one would argue that, no, he isn't black because his mother is white. It's funny how people's ideologies will completely change to pacify themselves. If he hadn't have actually won the nomination, he would be just another black man- no matter if his mother was white or not- because his father was a black man. An African.

But back to the topic at hand......

Why would you even think to compare the "blackness" of Michelle and Barack. Michelle grew up in the south side of Chicago. Her father struggled to provide for them. And even through his disability, he went to work so that his children could have better lives. She struggled. Barack on the other hand was raised by his mom and grandparents. They lived in Hawaii. Smooth sailing. So, does this makes Michelle more black because she struggled? Is Michelle more black because she grew up in a strong black neighborhood?

Why can't black represent achievement, intelligence, wealth, goals, accomplishments. I'll use myself. I grew up in Alabama. My mom married when I was in elementary school. My step father is in the military, so we moved around a bit. I was exposed to different cultures. I don't really remember struggling. I articulate my words. I say "totally" and "OMG!" Does this make me less "black"? Had I remained in Montgomery, AL, with my mom working three jobs to support us, adapting the slang of the streets, conceiving a child before the age of 17, and not gone to college, would this weigh more on my "black" card? And I use all of that because statistically, those things should have happened to me.

It pains me to see the ignorance of this country. Everyday it is something new. And it's not limited to one racial group. We're all guilty of it in some shape, form, or fashion.

Some of the comments made in that article made me wriggle my noise and scrunch my forehead in utter disbelief and awe. For example:

“The fact that, as a successful black male, Barack did not choose a lighter-skinned woman, as most of them do, sends a message to me,” says a black female supporter at the Pontiac rally.

What kind of message does that send????? So, because Michelle is darker skinned, she is more black? This makes Barack a better man? What does skin tone have to do with anything?? Ignorance.

"See, Barack is the son of an African immigrant, which I like since I adopted me
a country years back, but he’s a Harvard grad, with a white mom and white
grandma.” The lady reaches onto the dash for her purse, and forks over the cash.
“Black as this guy is,” he tells her, “he’s whiter than you!’

Do all white people go to Harvard? What does that mean? Ignorance. Why is it so astounding that this man went to Harvard? Why is it so astounding that someone NOT WHITE can articulate words and form a complete sentence? Ignorance.

Call it what you want. But this nonsense about who is blacker is just that: nonsense. We have to stop it within our own conversations, communities, and culture.

Black doesn't equal poor. Black doesn't equal struggle. Black doesn't equal uneducated. Black doesn't equal unqualified. And until we get that, own that, and live it out, there will continue to be pointless articles written, ignorant comments made, and useless arguments over issues that should be a non-issue.