The other day the whole community was up in arms over a Gawker post about Blacks being the newly fashionable accessory at holiday events. Well, a heated debate about light skin vs dark skin inspired today’s post. The idea of Black is so vast as a concept. Mass Media would have us believe that in oder to be “Black” one must fit a certain canon. But we all know there is no real definition, especially in countries like USA & Brazil with rich histories of “interesting” mixes.
Listen, my grandmother looks like Lena Horne, I have no “booty” & don’t want one & I appreciate those who do, My hair has 4 different textures & I have reversed “kitchen”: mine is straight in back, frizzy/mixed w curly in the middle & kinky in front (I figure 1 texture per ethnic group: my heritage is African American, Native American, Dutch & Irish), I don’t eat chicken but don’t hate on those who do, I love classical music & classic hip hop, I’m a nerd from the hood who loves Warhol & Bobbito, I love being myself & I love all cool people in general.
Now I know most people feel the same way I do so as a member of the popular media I’ll step up & say: Hey, it’s ok to like what you like, be yourself, & embrace something that is outside of your comfort zone or level of understanding.
We are all “different”. So today I salute “The Other Black” in hopes that we can begin to open our minds to the Human concept.
today’s post is dedicated to Michaela Angela Davis, Amel Larrieux, Va$htie Kola, Zoe Kravitz, Lea Dwyer, Ife Mora, Lehni Lamided Davies, Saaliah Porter, Neffy Walker, Ayah Davis-Karim, Angela Yee, Tisha Brown, Isadora, & Stina Kinck.
thestudioArena 
7 responses to “Trump Models: Pat Cleveland & Victoria Brito”
Celebrating who we are is beautiful! Blackness is not defined by what Music you listen to, or if you have “wash and go” hair! Which I don’t! Lol. When I was in Bahia, I wAs brazillada, in Morroco i blended and bonded with Morrocan women. Being smart is black! I’m a cute nerd 2 piper! I’m from Detroit and I ride a bike. We are a diverse people. I look at the so called “growing latino” population as more Spanish speaking black people. We t the same people, different island. America is great at showcasing our differences. My Native, Dominican, Asian, South American, African sisters are just that. We r not the other, we are the template!! Xo
I’m terribly late with this, but lol @ Ogechi’s original comment.Loving this blog. Bookmarked.
Good post. There are “other blacks”, “other Native Americans” “other Asians” etc. Sometimes we are all of these at once.
*i kid. i kid.honestly i can’t wait for the human awareness to come in, either.in reality everyone is mixed. we all just show different features. and thru the oppressive systems that a small group whose interest is it’s own power some features are ‘valued’ more than others in the mainstream society.so then some w/o certain features feel ugly. and the group with the ‘desirable’ characteristics feel somehow want to compensate for the privileged it affords or doesn’t afford them.but then you’ve got aboriginals which are phenotypically very similar to other africans in the diaspora but they have naturally straight hair and have natural blondes with no known “blood mixtures” and they also identify as black.gotta love it!piper! this blog is very thought provoking and inspirational.love the playlist.my new radio.
dang, i know life is hard for the mixed people, but baby. it will all work out just fine.just remember, ogechi loves you.i judge folks on how they ack! not they skin color or hair texture.that’s what my mama and my grandma taught me.and that’s what i’ma teach my babies…;-)
Great post! Goodness…imagine what life would be like if we were all the same:(
pipe you KNOW how i feel about this… i get into it day in and day out on not being black enough due to my skin color and hair… lol@ your description of yourself… love it!!