Black Authenticity

Growing up I ran into complications concerning my identity. I wasn’t doing what all of the other black students were doing. While I was on stage acting, they made friends through sports. I was surrounded by white students because we had the same interests and naturally gravitated towards each other. We really clicked but I couldn’t seem to nurture the same relationships with black people. So what did that make me? At a very young age I didn’t even want to be called black. I didn’t fit into any of the preconceived ideas of black people so how could I be called one? It wasn’t until High school I began to really think about what I believe it means to be black. Even today my definition is constantly changing but it’s thankfully evolved from what I used to think.

To be black is to be proud, beautiful, and unapologetic. To be black is to be whatever a black person is. To be black is to sing, it’s to dance, to play basketball or field hockey, it’s to love skiing and hate hiking. It’s up to me. This year, as a college freshman, I noticed the overwhelming segregation of the student body so I took it upon myself to join BEATS, an acapella group that spreads black history and culture through song. As well as FACES an anti-discrimination and educational group on campus that gives talks and teaches students and faculty of issues concerning race, identity, colonialism and more. Beyond the extra curricular realm I’ve begun to embrace everything I am in full force- dancing to any and all music at any time, wearing my hair however I please and most importantly giving those around me the positivity they need to propel forward. It took me a while to learn that being black isn’t always about fighting the power - my mere existence accomplishes that goal on its own. I am simultaneously the face of every black person in America and only a representation of me. Being black is about being completely and authentically me.