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We the Black delegation want to know who's going around shunning and accepting other black people? Okay so allow me to back this all the way up so we're all on the same page. I recently came across a year old post by XONecole (click to read article) in regards to Willow Smith speaking on how she believes the Black Community shuns her. I read the article and it was rather interesting on why Willow felt that she isn't accepted by the black community or black people in her family. This isn't the first black celebrity that I've heard attested to not being accepted or feeling shunned by the black community. I remember earlier this year Fresh Prince's Alphonso Ribiero (Carlton Banks) made a statement that he felt shunned by the black community because he has a white wife. How many of you knew he was married?
I digress. I started to wonder what makes a black person feel as though they aren't accepted by the black community? Is it their blackness? What determines or what is deemed to be black? Willow referenced that her blackness comes into questions because of the way she talks, dress and the music she makes. I can understand not feeling accepted if you aren't getting the same embrace that someone else who fits the stereotypical image of how black people are represented. But it did come into question once Courtney Simpson, the author of the article, broke down how black people don't sit in the positions to push a certain narrative of how black people are represented. A lot of times we aren't in the board rooms when the decision to down play a black character is discussed but we are starting to see a shift right now.
Black people aren't the same across the board just because we identify with being black. Most importantly, we don't necessarily relate with each other just because we're black. We come from all walks of life and don't have the same experiences and just because we identify with the same race doesn't mean we'll be relatable in other areas.
Is it our responsibility to make black people feel accepted into the black community? Does Willow have a valid point? Are we burdening ourselves putting our acceptance in the hands of people outside of us? Check out my take on it by clicking the link above.
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