“It was very hard for me to accept Western European values because they didn’t accept me. Any Negro born in this country spends a great deal of time trying to be accepted, trying to find a way to operate within the culture and not to be made to suffer so much by it, but nothing you do works. No matter how many showers you take, no matter what you do. These Western values absolutely resist and reject you. So that, inevitably, you turn away from them or you reexamine them. Because it is something that slaves knew and the masters haven’t found it out yet; the slaves who adopted that bloody cross knew the masters could not be Christians because Christians couldn’t have treated them that way. This rejection has been at the very heart of the American Negro psyche from the beginning.”
In a Nutshell
When it comes to identity I fall into the humanist camp. I believe in focusing on all parts of a person. Honing in on how each part is interconnected because people are more than a mental health abnormality or a subset of their identity and should be treated therapeutically (and generally) as such.
One of those subsets of identity that I would argue is more than a subset for some of us, is race. This week begin a conversation about identity and discuss how Blackness is more than an artificial identifier, it is dynamic and intentional heritage.
Racial Identity Reflection
Check out this one-page reflection that helps you dive into what it means to be, well, you! See from your answers how you see your racial identity.
Click the button below to download the FREE pdf.
Related Article:
A paper briefly discussing the intricacies of racial identity, with an emphasis on the Black racial identity.
“[Blackness] is not a physical characteristic; it is a young heritage and a badge of honor for those who despite the stereotypes and prejudice embrace it in every way.”
— Micah Brown