[SummerChild]

Originally posted by Honeykiss1974
Has anyone ever had their "blackness" questioned because you happend to have a particular stance on certain issues (i.e. Democrat vs. Republican) or maybe because of your profession or the neighborhood that you reside in. Today, I had a discussion with an old high school chum and she proceed to tell me that I have changed and become one of "them"now. I asked her how and she stated that since I moved to the "upscale" part of town and got my new job, I've been talking and flinging my hair back like some white girl, forgetting where I came from. She then proceed to tell me that because of "sell-outs" such as myself, this is why black folks will never be unified and excel. After a silent prayer (because I felt like beating that itch down with a bat! ) I explained to her that my "blackness" is not defined by the small limited scope of her mind. I suggested that once she ventures out into the world she will find that all black people do not fit into a steretyupical mold that she has been taught to believe. The nerve of that heifer! Anyway, has anyone else haas their "blackness" questioned and if so, how did you handle it?

HK, I understand your annoyance with your friend b/c she was making many assumptions. However, I also understand why she may have made those assumptions. Many of us (black people) get our jobs and move as far away from black people as we can and never look back or try to aid the community from when they came. I don't think that it's absolutely necessary to live among blacks (although I will b/c when I go to work in the mornings, I want black children to see a young black professional and know that they too can do that), I do think that it is essential to continue to take part in the struggle.

Don't be mad at her. Maybe she didn't mean any harm.

SC