I am with Tamron Hall 100%! I, too, am unapologetically Black and American. I would add to that Woman. I am also unapologetically Woman, Black Woman and proud... Black folks need to stop shying away from our greatness and that which makes us unique and special, that which so many others try to emulate/duplicate/appropriate/steal while at the same time using that which they emulate/duplicate/appropriate/steal in some mad attempt to belittle and/or make those of us who drink the Kool-Aid feel inadequate or less than... I never drank that Kool-Aid and never will... I love me some me and my people, no matter where I find us...
The unapologetic American thing is complicated but I get it. It's like staying in an abusive relationship for a variety of reasons. Like it or not, America is home. It is what we know. Travel and you will appreciate that it is that which is familiar for/to us; racism and all... Yes we are enriched by our African influence but America is our indoctrination, that which gives us our special flavor; a blended flavor created by us... More relevantly however, America is the place our Ancestors died building, albeit by torture, rape and force. To fail to claim or to deny their suffering and/or sacrifices made for our/their stake in this land is to unforgivably disrespect them and is the worst of affronts to them on all levels for that which they endured and withstood so that we may stand, so that we might be, so that we can call this land still sometimes foreign to us four centuries later, home. Be our Ancestors strong willed and determined enslaved Black folks, Black folks who hung as strange fruit from strange trees all across this nation, Black folks whose souls live on the bed of the Atlantic Ocean or on the beds of lakes, streams and bayous all across the south, or brave, Black folks who valiantly fought wars FOR this nation only to return and be treated not as the brave countryman they were or Black folks who were fearless and defiant civil rights workers and upon whose shoulders every recipient of a modern civil right stands; make them acknowledge it...
Like it or not, We, Black folks, are American and our blood is in this soil. We have earned and died for the right to call it home... To do otherwise, plays into the hands of those who want to deny our being, our existence and our claims for rights that are painfully, duly and rightfully ours... Like it or not, we have the blue passport many others want, at least pre-trump they did, and we should not take that lightly. Yes we leave America to live in other parts, it's called freedom which includes the freedom to travel and explore, but how many of us who move abroad actually give up our passport? Can't say I have met many... Why? Because America is our home... IJS...
In America, to be Black and proud is wrongfully depicted as to the exclusion of others. Not true. Not true at all... ALL folks should be proud of and celebrate who they are, for those of us who are Black and American, that includes us. We have MUCH to celebrate and should not limit that celebration of us and who we are to the shortest month of the year. Celebrate Black History and Black Excellence 365 so that (1) others know and can't forget but (2) and more importantly, so that WE know and NEVER forget!
Click here to check out Johnathan Capehart's Washington Post article and podcast with Tamron Hall, Tamron Hall, Unapologetically black and American. Looking forward to celebrating my Sistah's next move... Thank you Mr. Capehart!
