Month: November 2016

I know!  I know!  I know!  This is a necessary evil, but can’t we just put them down for one minute; an hour; half a day; an entire day?  We have become so desensitized to etiquette and just common courtesies.  It’s bad enough I’m asking teens to take their phone calls outside the library, but why do I have ask grown ass people to get off their phone in a library?  IT’S THE FREAKING LIBRARY, PEOPLE!  Really?  I remember when I got my first cell phone.  Back then it was called a “mobile” phone.  Back then would have been in like 1993 for me.  I don’t care about technology.  I care about convenience it can provide, but I certainly don’t have to have the latest, hottest, newest anything.  I DON’T CARE as long as it works.  It took me forever to get a DVD player.  What did I need it for?  I was very content with my VHS player.  But then some genius decided to start making videodisc.  What the heck was I supposed to do with all those VHS tapes?  Then, as if the good old videodisc wasn’t good enough, we had to get the BluRay disc which I still don’t own because that would mean I need to buy a BluRay DVD player and I wasn’t trying to upgrade anything.  Hell, I own maybe 75 DVDs.  I’m not getting rid of them even if I have to watch them on the computer.  

Sorry…that was a tangent moment.  My bad.  Okay…back to the phones.  I purchased my first one from Alltel Mobile.  Who remembers Alltel?  It was a big bulky bag and you had to plug it into the cigarette lighter in the car.  Wireless didn’t even exist..not the way we experience it now!  I felt like a soldier in the field, in the midst of battle, trying to radio for help.  After about a year with that, I cancelled the plan and did not have another phone until about…..wait.  I can’t even remember.  Maybe it was late 90s or maybe not until the 2000-something.  That’s how important it was to me.  I do remember getting a Cricket phone/service around 2003 or 2004.  I am very frugal and hate to spend money on things that don’t necessarily matter to me.  The Cricket phone was cheap and that was the first time I heard of the Kyocera brand of phone.  Plus, Cricket had the flat rate phone plan, and I truly had a flip phone.  I didn’t even know what texting was until about 2004 when this guy I liked sent me a text. I was like, “WTH was that!”  It took me a minute to figure out how to retrieve it. Little did I know that I was paying for those incoming and outgoing text messages.  

So over time, I’ve come around.  I can’t tell you how many phones I’ve had and I take care of them!  They are too expensive to treat any kind of way and since I don’t have anyone replacing it for me, I know it’s going to last.  

Here’s my beef about cell phones:  the cost of the phone; the cost of the phone plan; the cheap hardware; the short length of battery life; and lack of cell phone etiquette.  The price of the cell phone is ridiculous!  Do these service providers really think I’m going to pay $700 for a phone? Now they’ve tried to take away our choice to have a 2-year contract and buy the phone for a lot less.  They’re trying to force us into having “leases.”  Really?  Who wants to  lease a doggone cell phone or pay as you go?  They seem to have the upper hand (or do they?). Either way, I need a phone because I refuse to pay for a cell phone AND a landline at the same time.  The cell phone plans (I don’t care who the provider of service is) are CRAZY!  I pay almost $100 for my plan and the leasing of the phone I got suckered into.  My first smartphone was an HTC.  I had had a flip phone forever and kept saying to self, “I don’t need no stinking smartphone!”  Well, I got that HTC and realized I could no longer live without a smartphone.  The battery kept dying on the phone within the first 6 months and it wasn’t because I had not charged it.  Sprint, who was my provider at the time, was worthless and would not honor the agreement or try to fix the phone.  Finally, I contacted HTC directly and guess what?  They sent me a brand new battery for the phone and I had no more issues.  The next smartphone I got was a Samsung Galaxy S3.  Still with Sprint, I didn’t think there was anything spectacular about the phone, and I did like it better than the HTC.  Now onto smartphone #3.  After over 2 years with the S3, I upgraded to a Galaxy Note 4.  Not only did I upgrade the phone, but I left Sprint and found myself with AT&T.  I can’t say I’m crazy about them, BUT I was sick of calls being dropped with Sprint.  I do think the Galaxy is a well made phone in terms of hardware, but I’ve been wanting to switch to an iPhone and I keep asking myself, “Why do you need an iPhone?”  I see lots of cracked screens on iPhones, but please take into consideration that the users of those phone are mostly teens who have no regard for their parents’ finances since they’re the ones who buy those new phones.  All that to say my biggest peeve with the cell phone is desensitization to real people, real conversations, real manners, and real interactions. Students come to the desk all the time and have their earbuds in, music blasting and simply hand me their ID card.  While I know what they want, I look at the picture and say, “Nice pic.”  They’re like, “Oh, computer.”  My response is, “Would you like to put that in the form of a question with perhaps a please or thank you tacked on the end?”  Student responds, “Sorry.  May I have a computer, please?”  Abso-freaking-lutely!  

All I’m saying is people who can’t tear themselves from their cell phones need to be more aware of other people and their surroundings.  I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been walking down a hallway at the school and had a student run into me, even as I’m attempting to veer to the right, out of harm’s way, they veer with me to their left because they are not paying attention.  Finally I just stop moving and wait for the collision.  They look up as if it were my fault they weren’t watching where they were going.   Boy, bye!

It’s the day after Thanksgiving and I’m sitting the Volkswagen dealership.  I’m observing all the people around me on their devices.  I see laptops, eReaders, and cell phones.  While I sit here with my phone on vibrate, so I don’t disturb anyone, I’m typing from my Chromebook and listening to Pandora.  Of course I have my earbuds in!  Duh!  Now to my right is an elderly gentlemen who is watching some sort of video on his phone with NO earbuds!  Seriously? As if that wasn’t enough, he just made a phone call, and must be hard of hearing because I can still his his conversation even with my earbuds in.  Then to my left, there is a middle aged woman who is watching a movie on an iPad mini with NO earbuds.  WTH!  Really, people?  

We are so desensitized to our surroundings because of these darn devices.  I don’t want to hear your conversation.  Hell,  I don’t want to hear the video you’re listening to, especially since I’m not watching it!  I certainly don’t want to run into you because you’re not watching where you’re going.  Would it be too much trouble to ask you to turn them off and turn on to people?  Yeah, probably, but could you just try to be more aware?

A.Redbone

I am speechless, still, even after almost 4 full days have passed since the election results.  I don’t know what to think about this country or the people I thought I knew.  As a Black woman, I can only share how I feel.  From the beginning of this election 2016 season, I have thought it unnecessary to spew hate filled propaganda. I still cringe at the displays of hostility towards Blacks, gays, women, Muslims, Hispanics, and other minorities.  In all honesty, I’m more disappointed in the statements of “friends” who profess Christianity, and don’t question the tactics used by Trump.  Even if we disagree, there is a way to do it that is respectful and peaceful.  Of course, I’ve had to check some people and honestly, I don’t really care if you speak to me again.  I’ve unfollowed some folks on FaceBook.  Consider yourself lucky that you’ve been removed.  I’m trying to rise above your backwards thinking.  Last time I checked, right is right and wrong is wrong.  Sometimes we have to stand up to the wrong.  I do not agree with the manner which Trump ran his campaign or the bullyish and brutish tactics he used. It was as though he planned and executed a hostile takeover.  I pledge allegiance to the Un-United States of America. We are more divided than ever before.  It’s “us” against “them.”  I look at my white counterparts with suspicion and distrust.  I wonder (and always will) if they supported him; if they believe his ideals; if they really feel that way about me.   I know none of this is rational, but my mind is all over the place right now.  

In my shock and disappointment, it has been a great struggle to maintain my own decency and composure, while holding my head up and silently grieving for this country and the backwards mindset of many people.  This campaign was never about policy, domestic or foreign.  It was about the fact that we’ve had a Black man in the White House for the last 8 years; that working class white America thought they lost something; that America was somehow tainted.  I’ve had to disconnect from Facebook for a while since the supporters of the President-Elect are saying how “we” aren’t even giving him a chance.  Well, if memory serves me correct, those same voices did not (and still don’t) give President Obama a chance during his 2-term appointment.  So, I do not give a rat’s ass about those feeling you’re having.  Our democracy worked the way it should even if Trump used fear and ignorance to sway right-wing conservatives, rural America, working class, hate groups, etc., who have resisted and fought every advance for this country President Obama tried to make.

That’s how I feel about it and I’m moving on because at the end of the day, Donald Trump doesn’t have a heaven or hell to put me in.  I serve the One, True King:  Jesus the Christ.  He is the author and finisher of my faith.  My hope and trust are in Him.  Even if the Trump doesn’t fulfill one promise he made, I have the assurance that God doesn’t lie as man does.  I have the assurance that He will do just what He said He will.  I have that assurance that presidents will come and go, but God is always faithful, always here, always and forever My King and Lord!  

When the Holy Spirit dropped the title on me for this post, I began to think about what that word, “trump,” means. It’s a little bit ironic, but in any event I thought it meant to have victory over or to defeat.  According to the Urban Dictionary, it means, “to have superior power over; to surpass or outdo.”  However, I do believe I like the definition at Vocabulary.com the best.  It states, “To trump is to outrank or defeat someone or something, often in a highly public way.” The title of this post also led me to think about the positions in this way.  Again, I deferred to Vocabulary.com.  When I looked up the word “president,” it is defined as “the chief executive of a republic” or “an executive officer of a firm or corporation” or “the officer who presides at meetings of an organization.”  Think about that for a minute.  

Done marinating on that?  Now marinate on this.  A King, on the other hand and according, again, to Vocabulary.com, rules until death.  Do you see where I’m going?  Not yet?  Okay, so what I’m saying is that Jesus is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.  He reigns over a kingdom and that would be the kingdom of man, greater than any republic or CEO of any company.  Jesus came and died for us that we would have life and have it more abundantly.  Who, but a King, has that kind of power?  His dying on that cross meant that He lives forever, which means that He is my King forever.  By dying on that cross, He inherited an eternal throne that man can’t touch. In John 18, Jesus has been brought before Pilate and questioned.  To paraphrase, Pilate is basically saying, “These people want to kill you and I really can’t see that you’ve done anything.  They tell me you declare yourself to be King of the Jews. So what have you done to make these people so mad that they want you dead?”  Jesus was real smooth.  Sometimes you can feel dumb in His presence and He hasn’t done anything except ask a few questions.  So, He asked Pilate if his opinion was his own or had people talked about Him.  He went on to say this in verse 36 of John 18 (The Message), “My kingdom,” said Jesus, “doesn’t consist of what you see around you. If it did, my followers would fight so that I wouldn’t be handed over to the Jews. But I’m not that kind of king, not the world’s kind of king.” So Pilate comes back, “So you are a king?”  Jesus responded like this is verse 37,  “You tell me. Because I am King, I was born and entered the world so that I could witness to the truth. Everyone who cares for truth, who has any feeling for the truth, recognizes my voice.”

With that being said and that reassurance, I know who I serve and to whom I belong.  If you are a believer, what should you fear?  I do not have the time nor the energy to be walking around and living a stalled existence because of fear.  Who is man, or Trump for that matter, that I should be afraid?  When the World Trade Center was attacked on 9/11, everyone became afraid to fly.  I’ll bet you my happy behind was on an airplane within 6 months.  Some of you may be looking at Trump as a Goliath, albeit, an untempered Goliath.  Nonetheless, God allowed David to defeat the giant. That right there, along with the great battles the Lord allowed His people to win, should be enough to give you the utmost confidence in Our Lord.  The only way to defeat a giant (or bully) is to stand up to him.  It doesn’t mean there has to be physical violence.  Fight back with your mind, with knowledge, with proactivism.  God will do the rest.  My destiny will not be left in the hands of Donald Trump, his constituents, republicans, democrats, or anyone else.  My destiny is what God says it is.  The King trumps the President!

Shady children are possibly the result of a shady environment, and dare I say the result of shady parenting.  I work at a community college library part-time.  Slim Shady-Daddy came in the library and tried to get over on the “system.”  Really?  What the hell is wrong with people?  If we don’t live a life of integrity, do you not think your children will inherit that same skill set or lack thereof?  Disclaimer:  This does not apply to all parents or parenting styles.  I am not one nor can I relate.  I can just tell you what I observe.  Some people have this “get over” mentality.  Always looking for a shortcut or a quick fix.  So this man of about 50+ years came into the library and asked for a study room.  Study rooms at the community college are for ENROLLED students (paying tuition, NOT faculty or the general public)!  I asked him how many will be in the study room and he said, “Two.”  I followed protocol and asked for his student ID, which he willingly provided.  In the meantime, I had another group of students ask for a study room.  I had no vacancies…there was no room at the library.  Shortly thereafter, Slim Shady-Daddy came up to the reference desk and asked how he could print something out.  “Ding-Ding-Ding” went the bells in my head!   An ENROLLED student would have a college login ID and password.  I said to Slim Shady-Daddy, “Sir, if you’re enrolled, your college login and password will work on any campus computer.”  Then it all comes out.  “Oh (heh, heh, heh), I’m not enrolled this semester.”  My eyebrows raised and to the best of my ability I tried not to give him the “You tried it,” slow, prolonged blink look, but to no avail.  So in my most professional-trying-not-to-make-your-ass-feel-stupid voice I respond, “Sir, some services are limited to enrolled students only.”  Dumb ass responded, “Well, I thought this is a community library.”  The intelligent librarian responded, “Community college and public libraries are not defined the same.  This is not a public library.  The general public may use the our library as a guest and you must complete required paperwork in order to do so.  Also, by signing in, with a valid driver’s license, I am allowed to log you into a computer with a guest login should you request one.”  He continued to play dumb.  No worries.  If that is the example he chose to set for his daughter, who appeared to be in middle school, then so be it.  Now get this!  Initially, I was not aware that the party of two included his middle school aged daughter.  That was the beginning of the deception.  His deception.  I know where it began,  but where does it end?

This is why students at the high school come in the library with that attitude. You need to be honest and kind to people in a service industry.  Heck, just be kind…PERIOD!   No one owes you anything.  I am here to assist and serve, not to give stuff away  or pucker up and kiss your behind!  You may be a prima donna or head honcho at home, but not at school, or other public places. My world does not revolve around you.  There is something called integrity, a lost art that our society has forgotten.  It is not a learned behavior.  It is taught.  Now,  I will say that some parents do some serious, on point parenting, but to no avail when they have a child who just refuses to apply the values that were instilled in them.  

I’m not a shady person.  First of all, it’s not in my genetic makeup.  Secondly, the Holy Spirit will not allow me to lie.  I’ve never  been able to do it,and I am easily convicted when I do anything wrong.  Lastly, my mother worked too hard to provide a good life for my sister and I.  She is one of the few people I’ve ever met who has truly walked her talk.   Her honesty and integrity caused her to struggle in providing for us.  In reporting her actual finances, it caused our receipt of public assistance to be drastically cut, while young teen mothers reaped benefits from the local Department of Social Services with WIC and other assisted programs.  In any event, in doing so, she showed me the kind of person I want to be. I don’t try to get over on people.  I choose to  live with the consequences regardless of what they will be, even if it means going without.  Sometimes, if you’re honest, the consequences may not be as bad  just because you demonstrated some integrity.

Again, my disclaimer is:  I. Am. Not. A. Parent.  I can only tell you what I observe.  I see it in situations with parents like Slim Shady-Daddy, and I see it in the students that work with daily.  Lately, I’ve gotten to the place where I have to call them out on their lack of integrity.  It is, after all, part of my responsibility to help cultivate productive members of society…our future leaders of America.

 

 

 

If I had a nickel for every time someone had a discussion with me about some Black trend or aspect of Black culture, I’d be a wealthy woman. I can’t tell you how many times White and Hispanic people, even Middle Easterners, have asked me something about being Black, i.e., hair, skin, eye color, big booty, mood, attitude, love, etc. I live with being Black every single day. There were actually times that I wished I was white. I thought if I were, my life would have been easier. If I had straight, silky hair, my life would have been easier. The life lesson I’ve learned up to this point is that life is what I make it. My destiny and the outcomes are up to me. Race has nothing to do with it.

In any event, I believe that we are the most misunderstood and feared race of people who walk the earth. I can not express who I am without being labeled “militant” or the “angry Black woman” because I tend to be extremely verbose, especially in the workplace. I can not be my happy ass self because the expectation is that I can not be happier than your white-self if your home life is falling apart. I do not understand how that is my responsibility. I simply want to come to work, build relationships with students and enjoy my job! I am not here to be your friend. We don’t even have to like each other, but one thing is for certain and that is that I will respect you as long as you respect me. I am a professional above all else and I do not need you lurking around a corner to hear what I’m saying to another co-worker because you feel excluded. I do not need you butting into a conversation because you can not stand not knowing what I’m talking about. My reality is that I am not going to share all of my business with you. You may not even be invited into my circle of close friends. So, do not take it personal when I tell you to mind your own damn business and leave me the hell alone! Sometimes I just want to be the heathen and not give a damn about people. I’m not built that way, but I am only going to take so much of the crap. Keep on doing the crap you do, because I don’t give a shit and if the truth be told, you are the VERY reason I write so that I do not have to retire from a career that I love!

You don’t know anything about my “blackness.” So please stop pretending to care or give a damn about it. I don’t give a damn about your whiteness. I already know your ass is “Coo-Coo for Coco-Puffs!” Your craziness is not going to become my craziness.

I have a few non-Black acquaintances  who have said, “I wish my hair would do that.” I even had one white friend stupidly say, “I wish I could walk in your shoes for a day.” Of course you can imagine the stupid look I gave (Mess like this is why I can’t excel in this area). Anyhoo, let me tell you something! If you had to have my hair or walk in my shoes, you wouldn’t make it until 10:00AM. You’d hate it! You wouldn’t know how to deal with the brillo-ness or dryness of my hair. You couldn’t stand the texture or smell of the hair grease that I sometimes have to apply to hair and scalp. God forbid if you were Black for a few hours. You’d be trying to pull that flesh right from your bones, because you’d always be identified by “that Black woman with the light skin…dark skin…big ass..big nose…big lips…” My plight is my plight. Don’t think for one moment that by walking in my shoes you can ever begin to know my daily plight. You can fake it all you want to, but you will not make it.

It never fails. Each morning I wake up, I am reminded that I am Black. I look in the mirror and the reflection peering back at me is that of my own: light complexioned skin and nappy dreads. When I turn on the TV and watch the news, I am reminded that I am Black. A violent crime has been committed by or against a young black man or black woman. In some cases, that person may be the perpetrator and in some cases, the victim. Shot down senselessly by the people we are supposed to trust, the Po-Po, or that self-appointed citizen vigilante who has shot that black man, boy, woman, or girl who looked like he/she was reaching for a gun or knife. When in actuality, it was nothing. Trayvon Martin. Michael Brown. Eric Garner. Tamir Rice. Aiyana Jones. Yvette Smith. The list goes on and on.

As a little girl, I was reminded daily that I’m Black. Kids don’t see color. Racism is taught in the home. My mother worked at Belk Department Store for over 20 years. When it was still at the downtown location, my auntie would drive down to pick her up. We’d be parked out front and I would always hope we’d get there early enough so I could run across the street to Wilson’s Drug Store and get a strawberry ice cream cone! Back then, a scoop was like two scoops! As, I’m standing there waiting in line, I see a little white girl clinging to her mother’s dress and peeking around her mother at me. I’m sure I was in elementary school and that little girl looked to be no more than 4 or 5 years old. In any event, as I’m standing there waiting, she looks at me and says, “Look at that nigger.” She stated it very matter-of-factly and I was thinking to myself, “What is she talking about?” You see, I didn’t even know what a nigger was. I had not heard my mother use that word, but deep in my soul, I knew it was directed at me. It broke something in me. I never thought I was inferior to white people until that little girl said that to me. Her mother looked straight ahead and pretended not to hear what she said nor did she acknowledge me. I got my ice cream and walked back to the car. I told my auntie what happened. Back then, Black folks didn’t want no trouble, so the canned response was, “Don’t pay her no attention.” The truth was, I did pay her words attention and they did hurt. Don’t ever let anyone tell you words don’t hurt because they do and they stay with you for the rest of your life. Stop lying to yourselves and to your children. Be honest with them about life. Wouldn’t it be better to hear the truth from you than some hate-filled person in the streets?

When I get in my car to drive to work, I am reminded that I am Black. When I pull up beside a car, or it pulls up beside me, and it happens to be a police cruiser, I am reminded that I am Black. I sit there looking straight ahead, with both hands on the steering wheel and wondering if the officer is running my plates because I am Black. Recently, I was in Round Rock, Texas on Gattis School Road. I passed a vehicle because the driver was driving below the speed limit. Upon signaling and passing to the right, I then looked over my left shoulder and checked my side mirror so that I could move back into the left lane, as I needed to make a left turn at the upcoming traffic light. In doing so, the next thing I see are blue lights flashing in my rearview mirror. I move off to the left shoulder of the road and a Round Rock Police Officer pulls up behind me. I stop my car and keep both my hands on the steering wheel. I let the window down and he says, “Ma’am, I’m Officer Hernandez. May I see your driver’s license? Do you know why I stopped you?” Of course I don’t know why, but I can’t even risk responding with a smart ass crack because he might yank me out of the car and proceed to do a beatdown. When I reply that I do not know why because I was certain I was not speeding. He said, “It’s because you cut that car off when you proceeded to move back into the left lane. The driver had to slam on her brakes. Are you in a hurry to get somewhere? Where are you heading?” Is he shitting me? Really? I am astonished. I say, while trying to remain calm because I’m not allowed to be angry with the police or question them, “Officer, I am a very cautious driver and I looked to see if I had room to move over. That driver had been constantly pumping her brakes, for no reason, when I was riding behind her. So, I passed her.” It was then that I knew he was not on my side; that I had no side; that because I was Black I was not going to “win” this position. I just shut my mouth and let him say whatever he needed to. I guess I tuned out. He finally said, “Ms. Hall, I’m not going to give you a ticket today. I’m only going to issue you a verbal warning. Just be mindful of how you’re passing.” Really? Is he shitting me? He didn’t have anything better to do and because Round Rock is notorious for profiling Blacks, he chose me since the driver of the other car was a white woman. I am always subjected to the carelessness of other drivers: cutting me off, pulling out in front of me, not giving turn signals, etc. I could go on, but guess what? Where are the cops when I need them to right my wrong? Nowhere to be seen! Officer Hernandez obviously needed to usurp his power on that day. I am reminded that I am Black. Thanks for that Officer Hernandez, my fellow minority member of society.

Before I walk into a retail establishment, I am reminded that I am Black. I have to make sure that my hands are not in my pockets and that I have everything I will need out of my purse. My phone. My shopping list. My debit card or cash in my hand so they can see I am intending to make a purchase. I am reminded as the eyes of the white associates fall on me. I have become profiled because of the color of my skin. I want to make sure they see me when I walk in and I try to stay in their view. I am certainly no thief, and Black people aren’t the only people who steal. I recently worked in one of the nation’s largest home improvement stores as a cashier. Guess what? In my eight months there, I only witnessed one Black man stealing an expensive drill and one Black woman attempting to run a con on the store at self checkout, where I happened to be stationed that day. All the other scams were committed by white men and women. Heck, one guy was so bold that he printed up his own product label with UPC code. When it was scanned, the item price rang up as $299 when it was actually $699. Then this other group of white shoppers, were piling all this shit in their basket. They had been in the store for a couple of hours. Now let me tell you that home improvement shopping is to me what Neiman Marcus is to other women. I can stay in there for hours. The thing is that I knew this group (two trashy woman and one trashy man) were together even though they were shopping separately. My intuition spoke and I listened. You see, if a woman is in a home improvement store, she is there on a mission. These people were randomly throwing expensive shit in their basket. When it came time to checkout, I offered to scan the merchandise for them with my trusty little scanner at self-checkout. The female began to act all surprised regarding the prices of the items. I asked her if she still wanted it and she said no. So without letting her handle the merchandise, I moved it out of her reach. Needless to say, this went on for about 15 minutes until finally, my head cashier took her to another register. Still running the same scam, the head cashier was finally able to total out the purchase. It ended up being about $300 and that heffa only had $28 in her pocket. WTF! BUT they were white. Of course white people don’t do anything underhanded. NOT! All people have the potential to do so. Never overestimate someone because of the color of their skin.

I am a professional Black woman with an undergraduate degree in business administration and a master’s degree in library science, but I am reminded daily that I am Black. I have been a librarian for 21 years working in public, university, special and school libraries. It never fails that someone will ask the ridiculous question, “Is there anyone here who can help me?” I look around, bewildered, as if to see who they are looking for. Without giving them my “stupid” look, my canned response is, “This is a library reference desk. Anyone at this desk is professionally trained to help you AND has a master’s degree in library science. Please don’t ask that question again. Now, how may I help you?” They look all stupefied and are left speechless. Insulted, perhaps, but no more insulted than I am. I guess to them, the position looks too “complicated” for a Black person. Maybe I don’t look smart enough or sound smart enough. I know I’m Black, but I don’t speak slang. It doesn’t even sound right coming out of my mouth. You see, I grew up in a single parent home with only a mother. My mother didn’t speak slang and she really didn’t allow us to. We spoke English in our home, and so do a lot of other Black families/homes. I am quite intelligent and never dumb down my conversations for anyone, regardless of how intimidated he/she may feel. However, when I was in high school, I didn’t know that it was okay to be smart and embrace it. I was very shy and usually in the classes I took, I was the only Black. There may have been one or two others in there, but they didn’t really talk to me. It wasn’t until I went to library school that I realized it was okay to be smart; to walk into that; to embrace it. I loved knowledge! I still do and I refuse to let anyone challenge me in such a way that they are trying to use their knowledge to make me feel stupid or inferior. That would be me giving you too much power and you do not have that kind of power over me.

Whenever someone mentions that they have a great relationship with their father, I am reminded that I am Black. You may be saying this is not applicable to only Blacks but for me, I always wrestled with (and still do) those feelings. You see, I have Black friends whose fathers were very present. I always felt unloved and unwanted by mine. It’s hard to even refer to him as “my dad” or “my father.” You see, God is the only Father I’ve ever known. This is in no way an opportunity to bash the person who contributed to my being. It’s just merely my truth. In fact, there seems to be an epidemic of absentee fathers in our homes and in the lives of our children. Once I was talking to my mother about my feelings and she said she never knew how much that hurt me. I guess she thought her provision and love were…should have been enough. For a girl, that image of that father shapes how she sees all men in her life, constantly looking for that provider; that rescuer; that protector. Even in my deepest relational hurts, the contributor didn’t do that for me. The most important relationship a girl will have with a man is the one she has with her father. How he loves her and chooses to be a part of her life will forever affect her beliefs about love, men, and herself. For a long time, I didn’t even believe Black men could love. I think all of us just do the best we can with what we have. All of us are a little bit damaged and a little bit jaded. After many years of pursuing a relationship with my contributor, I have come to the conclusion that it is a dead-end. For many years, I wrestled with buying Father’s Day cards and birthday cards. I would stand in front of the greeting cards, toiling over the right card. I could not buy a card that said, “dad” or “father” or “daddy.” I didn’t know who that person was. So, it was easier to purchase a light-hearted funny card. It was safer. Then once I decided I was over my “daddy’s little girl issues” (You do know you never get over them, right?), I stopped chasing him. I was done. I was over it. He’s never worked to know me, and I’m just over the pursuit.

When I strongly disagree with a co-worker (who happens to be a white woman), I am reminded again that I am Black. When I reprimand an employee (who happens to be white) because she undermined my authority and I call her on it, I am reminded that I am Black. I am labeled the “angry Black woman” because I don’t have time to deal with her passive-aggressive bullshit and insecurities because I might just know a little more than YOU do, but YOU are determined to prove me wrong and make me look bad, while shutting down the lines of communication with me. Sneaky. Underhanded. Devil. If I look at you like what you said is absolutely crazy, then I’m intimidating you? Well, guess what? That’s your shit….not mine! I will not own it nor will I stop being who I am. Is this all white women? No! I know great women who are very secure with themselves. I tend to find this with women who have no control over their personal lives or they have relational issues with their spouses and children. Sometimes I look at women I work with and can only imagine what they’re like at home. D I F F I C U L T! Better yet, C R A Z Y! Well, I have enough crazy of my own, I won’t be taking on yours, too!

On April 18, 2015, I made the BIG CHOP! I decided to separate myself from my dreadlocks after a seven-year relationship. I am reminded daily, that I am Black. I know the white folks are looking at the loss of dreads and gain of an afro…wondering if I’m going to be the “angry Black woman” with militant and radical ideas and voice. Or will I be the “toned down” Black woman (if there is such a being) who will keep the peace at all cost to herself and her very existence. Why can’t I just be who I am and not my hair? How come my hair just can’t be an expression of who I am becoming? Why can’t my hair just be about me looking cute? It is their issue not mine. They equate my hair to my personality. If it has a look of wildness on a particular day, then my attitude for the day can be misconstrued as “wild” and “aggressive. I love it when white women declare that I am aggressive simply because I have a voice and I choose not to hide what I am thinking and feeling. I don’t want to communicate in any other way than I have. I don’t want to be less of a threat to you because I sugar-coated my words to make you feel less intimidated. The truth of the matter is I AM a threat to you! I am an intellectual, spiritual and emotional threat to you and all your insecurities. I’m sick of working with the white woman who hides behind a power she doesn’t even have while all along trying to slap a bridle on me and get me to bow down to her way of life. I meant what I said and I said what I meant. I didn’t stutter nor did I hesitate. I said it and I meant it.

When I get passed up for that job promotion, I am reminded that I am Black. I know fully well that I have the experience and the qualifications for the job, but because my skin isn’t light enough and my afro is a little too ethnic, I’m reminded, but wait! The human resources department hasn’t met me so they don’t know what I look like, but because I believe in Affirmative Action, I complete the AA questionnaire. Does this tip them off? Maybe. Maybe not. The competition comes to me for help with her presentation for her interview for the job I applied for, but she needs help because she’s never had to do an interview like this and her only experience for a director position is elementary school. Never mind that I’ve been a librarian 21 years and have worked in academic, public, special and school libraries. Unfortunately, Dr. King, the day has not arrived in which we “are not judged by the color of our skin, but by the content of our character.” I’m not light enough and just a little too ethnic looking. Another reminder that I am Black.

When I want to have a conversation about the injustices and plight of Black people, I have to discuss it in hushed whispers so my white counterparts don’t think we’re “plotting” against them, to “overthrow” the government, the schools, our jobs. When the truth is I just want to be able to express my “blackness” in a way that doesn’t offend or threaten you. When two or three Blacks are gathered, we must disperse because the suspicious gazes fall upon us. “Watch those niggers! They’re up to no good!” What about the white niggers or the Hispanic niggers or the Asian niggers or other ethnic niggers?

EVERY DAY! I am reminded. I. Am. Black.