Recently, as I was scrolling on social media where I saw a post which is obviously trending right now. It caused me to stop and think. So, I decided to write a blog about it. The post is essentially about a very complex subject. Race… and how we choose to define it.
In America, race is a very sensitive topic. Most people are taught not to openly discuss topics like race, politics and religion in any public environment, especially at your workplace, because they are sensitive subjects which people can easily take offense. I feel this blog is a safe space, even though it’s public.
So… here’s the story. Some people are questioning whether a famous rapper, named Fat Joe, should be able to call people the N-word. Because he is a Latino (Puerto Rican and Cuban descent) with green eyes and blond hair. As it is common knowledge that the N-word is a deeply hurtful racial slur rooted in the immense oppression black Americans received during American slavery.
To be honest, I’m not really in the hip hop culture. So, I don’t know a lot about Fat Joe. Nevertheless, I know a little. I always thought he was black. Fat Joe talks like he grew up in a black community, he’s always around black people, and he’s always worn hip hop clothing. Plus, most rappers in the music industry are black. Plus, he shaved his hair, so I never knew he had blond hair. I assumed he may’ve been biracial.
All to say, this controversy has reignited a larger cultural debate inside and outside the Black community. It forces us to answer the following questions:
- What does it really mean to be black in America?
- Who truly gets a “pass” to use the N-word, and where the lines are drawn between cultural immersion and racial identity?
My opinion on what it means to be black in America?
Just a few years ago, I remember former President Joe Biden saying this on a radio show, “If you have a problem figuring out whether you’re for me or Trump, then you ain’t black.” I also want to mention that he later apologized for saying this, and I never judged him for his words. Nevertheless, at the time his words sparked the same question people are trying to answer now.
Before I share my feelings on this question, I would like to acknowledge that I hate racism and all forms or racial prejudice. I believe there is only one race… the human race.
I feel being black means something different to everyone, and I respect everyone’s feelings. I don’t feel my opinion supersedes anyone else’s opinion. To me, as a black man who grew up in Louisiana, being black is both a feeling and a reality. Meaning, it’s a truth that you can feel. Being black is not a choice. I believe when you’re black, you don’t have the ability to choose not to be black when it benefits you.
Who truly gets to use the N-word without condemnation?
Words are powerful. Most young people don’t fully understand this. There hasn’t been many instances where friends or enemies used the N-word around me, whether to show love or hate towards me or talk about others. I heard it used more on TV, film, music videos and the radio than in real casual conversations with friends and family. No one in my family would ever say or call each other the N-word.
Rap and hip hop culture gave this word a new meaning. Overnight it became a loving or endearing word that black men could say to one another. Which is weird to think about. Just like it’s weird how black culture has normalized women calling each other b*tch, as a term of love and honor.
Over the last 30-40 years the music industry has profited immensely from degrading black men and women. There are a plethora of famous music artists who call black women b*tches and whores, and create the narrative that black men should seek to be either an athlete, entertainer, pimp, drug dealer, or thug.
I hate the N-word. I feel it’s best that everyone (regardless of race) not use it, say it, or even write it. I feel it’s the worst kind of curse word. I would love if the word was removed from our vocabulary and only seen in history books to teach the next generation of our past.
“I am not a racist. I am against every form of racism and segregation, every form of discrimination. I believe in human beings, and that all human beings should be respected as such, regardless of their color.”
Malcolm X
Now… we all know race is largely defined by how a person looks and acts. Few people will take the time to fact check a person’s racial ancestry. I also acknowledge just 60 years ago, race and skin color literally defined your identity and could potentially determine everything meaningful about your life; especially if you lived in the state of Louisiana, where I grew up.
The civil rights movement of the 1960s changed the United States of America in so many ways. I feel American people are still learning best how to approach race and segregation issues 60 years later.
When I was just 16 years old attending a majority white high school, I remember my first kiss was with a white girl who had recently moved to Louisiana from Ohio. I was shocked she was attracted to me. A few years later in college, I’ll never forget learning that interracial marriage was illegal in the state of Louisiana just 20 years before I kissed her. I was shocked to learn that our government imprisoned and my community killed people (who looked like me) for loving those of a different race.
In one way I agree with Fat Joe. He’s definitely had a lot of black cultural experiences in life. He grew up in a majority black community and he’s very successful in a majority black industry. Nevertheless, I do not feel Fat Joe is black. He’s trans-black, which is not a slight towards him; it’s just his experience. Because, at any time in life he can choose to be Latino when it benefits him and most people would believe him, because it’s true. That’s what he is.
It’s very interesting to me when I see people who choose to racially identify as black, yet do not look African nor have African-American ancestry. I feel they are probably profiting off the Black community or their identity somehow.
Americans created racism and made it legal. Prior to America, people generally identified themselves based off of nationality, social status, religion… not their skin color.
I’ll end with this. I feel in America we are free to self-identify ourselves. In my experience as a black person in America, I realize my experiences were much different than those of other dark skinned people in other states and countries. A black person can bleach their skin like Michael Jackson… they can adopt a different lifestyle/culture and marry outside their race like OJ Simpson… they can become one of the wealthiest people in the world, leave their family, and create a new life like Oprah Winfrey… but, in the end they will never feel fully accepted in any community, including their own. And, that my friends is what I feel it means to be black in America.
Jason's Journal 