Forced to choose between being black or ________.

[Munchkin03]

Originally posted by Honeykiss1974
Do you ever feel like you have to "choose sides" or an allegiance, if you will, between being black or something else? For example, between being black or an American - being black or following Christ - being black or being a member of an NPC/IFC - etc.

I don't feel as if I have to "choose sides," except in the rarest of examples (the latest GC brouhaha being one).

I often think that, despite our protests against being considered a monolithic group, we often treat ourselves as a monolithic group. That mentality is unhealthy, regardless if it ranges from the silly ("Black people aren't vegetarians") to the self-limiting ("We don't study art history").

Originally posted by laidbackfella
Black Folks don't cheer each other on for the positive choices that they make on a consistent and regular basis that don't fit into the social norm.

Isn't that the truth? Sometimes, it's the people who should be supporting you the most that try their hardest to tear you down.

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Has anyone read Authentically Black by James McWhorter? I don't agree with most of his political positions, but he has written several thought-provoking essays shattering the whole concept of "authentic" blackness and how we pigeonhole ourselves under false pretenses.