February 1, 2017

Welcome to the first day of Black History Month! Every year at this time, those that are melanin-deficient always make that statement we all know too well, “Imagine if we had white history month, we’d be called racist!” So, let’s go ahead and kick this off, shall we?

History, television, literature, movies, work environments, school classrooms—these are just a few major piece of life in which African-Americans are underrepresented. Unlike white folk, we don’t often get to see ourselves as the main character unless we write the story ourselves. We are seen as the comedic relief, the angry black woman, the sassy black woman, the baby daddy/mama, and all of these other ridiculous stereotypes. We are seen as the voice of all the other Black people in the world if we’re the only one in a classroom and a “Black topic” is discussed. We are seen as less than. We are constantly condemned and belittled for our culture yet, when a white person does it, they are revered and given the credit for whatever they stole.

We need Black History Month because some white people believe pro-Black means anti-white. This is because for them, pro-white is synonymous with anti-Black. It always has been. Pro-Black just means we don’t want to be treated as lower class citizens in the country that we built. Some believe “stop shooting us” and “black lives matter” mean we hate cops. It means you can be anti-police brutality while also knowing there are cops out there that are truly trying to do their jobs. But, until they take a stand for what’s right in their department, they get overshadowed by the negative.

As for BLM, y’all don’t scream “all cancers matter” when someone talks about only one so, in the words of Jesse Williams, sit down. You honestly sound asinine. And stop saying blue lives matter, too. Blue isn’t a race of people. That’s a job you choose to enter into and you can choose to leave. I don’t choose to be black. I was born in this skin and I will die in this skin. I will live every single day of my life as an unapologetic, Black woman and I don’t wish to live any other way.

You don’t get “white history month” because we live in a very white world where your history is taught while ours is ignored. Besides being enslaved, you’re not really taught anything about how African-Americans have contributed to this country.

You don’t get white history month because your privilege affords you so many advances that people of color do not get.

You don’t get white history month because if you were playing a multi-player video game and winning, you wouldn’t get a boost, the people behind you would. This is essentially the same principle.

You don’t get white history month because you get everything, and if we have something you want, you take it (and usually ruin it, but I digress).

Now with all of this said: HAPPY BLACK HISTORY MONTH AND BLACK LIVES MATTER! *raises fist*