I understand some of the tone of the original poster,maybe a better title would have been...?????

Im sick of other peoples response to me being black,including Black people.

I could never regret being a black person. All of the negative things that the originalposter observed, or all of the negative things that we as black people go through whether it be on a daily basis...or from time to time..makes me even prouder to be a black person to know that I'm surviving through it, and that the majority of us as black people are surviving through it and making something of ourselves.

I could never wake up one day and say"I've had enough....I wish I was white!" the thought makes me shiver... All of the negativity and the generalising that surrounds us or some of us, is what makes me a stronger person and proud to be who I am.

i agree to an extent but why are you yourself sick of being black? were not all as ignorant as you might think.all or most other races,to the best of my knowledge,have a leader or something/someone they believe in but its not alaways a good thing.the thing about black people is we have not got anyonegiving our people a sence of direction,not since king and x.ok so we survived the slave trade but know what?a lot of black people are and will be self sufficient untill such time when we oursleves have a positive rollmodel/leader butwrite now jay z and puffy are not doing it for me or anyone i know.

i completly agree with your statement realistic101

@ thread starter

i understand you but at the same time, you arent' offering tangible solutions or contributing to making things better.



i think a better approach would be to make some propositions about hoiw we can improve our community and lives of black people in general

It nice to see an old topic come to life again, but shouldn't more progressive thoughts be added????

Umbrarchist: I didn't realise you were in your 50's!!!! That said, wisdom from you should be spilling all over this site??????!!!!!!

From what i know, theterm African Americanwas better favoured because the term Negrois linked toslavery, from which the more offensive ni99er is derived.

"Black American", onlyrecognised colour and "Afro American" was a 'stepping stone' to the now used, "African American".

The term "African American", aknowledges the African ancestral heritage (and the richness thatcomes with it)of the people who use it. Going way beyond colour, it gives worth and depthto a people who are now reminded that they are not just descendants of slavesbut are much more.

niceone.gifMy small steps......I smile and say hello to any person, especially black people i meet. Everyone's always smiled back and said hello!!! I find we are less guarded and more friendly generally.

It's not until colonisation that things changed but in my country being light-skinned or being dark-skinned is seen equally attractive, they only emphasize on the complexion, being very dark-skinned and having a nice complexion, dark gum,dark lips, nice white teeth is seen as a kind of aristocratic "beauty" being light skinned with a nice complexion is seen as a kind of delicate beauty, men especially are expected to be dark-skinned, it's believed that light-skinned men lose a bit of their masculine attributes.

Well initially when i first post the topic i meant it as a metaphor and i was just trying to emphasize my displeasure with the state of black relations. This was my first topic and time on this forum actually. This was a phase i was going through and i now understand that the type ofblack people u associate with can effect this notion. Of course i am not sick of being black andnever was but what i am sick isthis poor mentality. Is that in plain enough english people?bighairlol

Sick of being black? i was going to say this is a good reason whyyou must not define yourself by a colour but Iguess there are those also sick of being African.

I wonder if this cuts both ways..are there people sick of being stupid, sick of being confused or sick of being used like a biatch?

Amazing how all i ever hear is people being sick of being 'black'

Kunjufu LOL - one thing with superficial people is they will always make the consequence look like the cause - I think it's called saving face

Im Hotep Sistren,

I can certainly relate to what you've said here. Let me tell you what happened to me on Saturday before I continue with my response: I went to the gas station at about 8 in the morning and there were a bunch of brothers I recognized from when I used to go to the mosque years ago. They were standing around a van, selling incense, soap, shampoo, and kufis. I said "salaam" to all of them and even bought two bars of that black soap. Then they tried to sell me some of the prayer outfits, and I told them I'm not a muslim anymore. Instantly they changed into enemies, telling me that I was damned and that it was stupid to practice Afrikan religions because "Afrikan niggas are the ones who sold us into slavery." I replied that they "sure did, because Islam had them so brainwashed that they had no problem selling the "infidels" to the whites and the arabs." It got silent then. The arabs treat them like GARBAGE at the mosques. They don't speak arabic, but I do! I heard them calling us slaves and monkeys and making comments when we use the bathroom about penis size.

The point of this story is - look how we have been taught to hate ourselves and our people. The arabs are over there in Saudi Arabia selling Black people to this very day, and in the Sudan, they are taking turns on 5 and 6 year old Black girls. Yet we are so loving and respectful of the arabs in the mosques and our own people are "Afrikan niggas". In the US, people will come to blows with you if you try to say they are Afrikan. Nooo, they will insist that they are AMERICANS, and that they don't "know nothing about them damn Afrikans". Sistren, when you hear this, what they are actually saying is "I am a creation of the West. I had no history, no language, and no culture, but then the white man came along and made me what I am today." This is due to a flaw in Afrikan culture that we really need to address, and it is this:

WHATEVER THE WHITE MAN MAKES IS BETTER THAN OURS.

As soon as the white came to Afrika, suddenly everything he had was sooo superior to what we had. Our palm wine and honey beer wasn't good enough anymore. No, please Massa, give me some of your scotch! Here, take 100 slaves, just give me your scotch. Where was "let's figure out how to make it and distill our own scotch"? No, the white man's is better. The missionaries showed up and it was "Let's look cute and import