The inferior black

I passed a group of teenagers yesterday arguing on why the color black is mostly associated with negative things, or tends to insinuate something bad and horrifying.

Some of these attributes include; black markets, black magic, black Americans, having a black heart, dark angel and the worse of all- black Africans!

Reading a report by BBC on how some European bosses want their black female employees to wear wigs to cover their afro hair as it is regarded as unprofessional really saddened me.

'Wear a weave at work – your afro hair is unprofessional'

For how long would the West dictate and impose their will on the “black man?”

I guess we can call it modern day slavery, let’s face it. The struggle for total freedom from oppression is still a wild goose chase.

Black is so strong a color, which even when mixed with “white” blood is still seen as inferior. There is a case of identity crisis by people who find themselves in this situation. Answering to one race would mean denying the other part of you hence the dilemma as to what to identify yourself with.

Dear reader, kindly assist me in choosing a name for our lost friends, let the selection begin…..

Black?, Mixed?, Biracial?, Hybrid?, Interracial? Multiracial?, Multiethnic?, Mixed breed?, Half breed?, Cross breed?, Oreo?, Zebra?, or Mongrel?.

I am positive even the zebra and panda know their exact breeds. The pressure on the black woman to have permed hair and wear make-up threatens her identity.

And what is this “madness” for “white weddings”?

Please do not get me wrong, if you have the means and can afford it then, “hurray!” But the recurring scenario where people refer to customary marriage as engagement and would want a so called “white wedding” to make it seem legitimate is utterly false.

I’m beginning to believe that the black man is incapable of managing his own affairs.

White weddings are the “white man’s” tradition and ours is our customary way of joining two people in holy matrimony. People should stop looking down on the black culture of marriage placing other traditions on high pedestals.

It is time for us to embrace our race and identity bearing in mind everything should be done in moderation. I was taught a poem in nursery school about our color. It reads:

“Black is beautiful, ladies of Africa

Black is beautiful, children of Africa”