Minority Changes

Minority is something that I was once...

When I was the only black kid in an all white school... town
(I know Gavin, but I was there for a while before you showed up...) I was a minority then, and I felt like it. My hair was different, I had friends, but I didn't feel like they knew where I was coming from. I put up with nick names like "Niggs" "Niggi", and while brownie doesn't seem so bad now, it created quite a bit of turmoil at the ages of ten, eleven, and twelve. I was asked more than a few times what color MY poop was, and I think a couple seniors said that when I was born I came out of the wrong hole. Who am I kidding.. I know that they did. I've been the black version of so many people, and I'm also clear that I'm "not really black" (my speech, the way I carry myself...) - I still wear my hair mostly in ponytails and buns at 28 years old to avoid the 11 year old's anxiety about spit balls and pens in it. To this day I refuse to eat Oreos...

The majority of the people who said these things are on my Facebook wall now and will barely remember that these were their words... nonetheless I carry these memories around intertwined with my memories of my youth; in some cases they overshadow any other memories I had of my peers.

I was a minority then.

But if you think I'm going to be a minority NOW... you're buggin. Whatever box I have to check on whatever form I'm given. Whatever percentage or statistic that I'm a part of. We are the majority, whatever it is that we may be called. And we need to own the responsibilities that go along with that.

A lot of things are changing in this world around us. Political climate is becoming increasingly more tense around the world and more importantly here at home. But there are things that we can do to make sure we still get the change that we were expecting, but we have to realize that we have to do more- It was never going to get done for us. No one needs to fix our communities, and if you're outraged that "they" are moving in and opening coffee shops... then you should be even more outraged that we didn't do it ourselves. What we're doing here isn't just about hair. It's about culture, empowerment, loving yourself, and supporting your communities.

If we don't give a fuck about ourselves, why should Corporate America give a fuck about you?

Welcome to the Majority.