What does it mean to be Black?

Personally, I can’t see anything wrong with finding pride in which you are.  My problem begins and ends with that picture of you being a concoction of how others see you versus how you see yourself.  If you see yourself a particular way and it gives you the strength to carry on, move forward and stay positive then more power to you but if does not then I beg each and every one of you to rethink your definition of who you are even if you might have to deeper within you than you have ever gone before to find it.

Many say that this may be the failings of blacks that we do not look deep enough within ourselves to find who we really are and therefore end up accepting the definition handed down through the ages.  What does it really mean to be black?    Was it just a definition of a people that was designed to help slave owners tell the difference between those they brought back and those that was here already?  Was it true of a race that the Klu Klux Klan warned others about to make speaking to or mixing with scarier using words to better describe black like dark, foreboding, dangerous or ungodly? Could this label mean less about color and more about character?  Was it especially designed as nothing more than a separation making it appear like black would never go with or stand for anything of importance?

Guess the same could actually go for white as well when you think about it.  I mean what really is the meaning of defining another by color anyway?  Do we feel better when we hear anyone described as either or are we kidding ourselves and using that adjective as an excuse to hate because we are more disgusted by the actions of the person instead of the color of that person?  Do we really care about the color of a murderer or terrorist or do the actions demand we condemn them regardless of the color? 

To be honest, in my opinion, color is irrelevant because if we truly consider color, we may find that white and black appears more of a neutral color than we first thought.  Imagine these two colors being mixed with others when you are dressing up a room.  Each can not only go together and make any room beautiful but they can also mix quite well with other colors to bring out the beauty in any situation.  So to simply see color when you see the room means you are allowing yourself to be blinded because true beauty can be found anywhere and everywhere you look.

What does it mean to be black?  It means whatever works for you but it does not mean that your idea of it will work for me.  The true meaning of being black is in how we see ourselves and never how others see us.  Based on strictly mannerisms and behaviors observed for quite some time, I consider myself more Italian and Native American than this so-called definition of black but I also take pride in the contributions that this basic color has made to the birth and continued growth of this nation.  It’s okay to find a position of pride in which you are but please let it be your choice of who you wish to be and not the choice of anyone else around you.