I’m doing Fadra’s Stream of Conciousness Sunday this week. Her writing prompt was : what are some things you wish you could blog about, but can’t?
Up until this week, I categorically didn’t talk about race.
Race is such a touchy sticky subject. It’s hard for some people to understand how it is to live always being reminded of the color of your skin. Because no matter what I do, I am black first, woman second. It’s hard to explain exactly how that feels to someone who is not a person of color. It’s sticky, and I just don’t like having to educate and explain how and why I feel about certain issues. How I’ve always had to be better than the best because I’m black. How I was teased when I was younger because I talked “white”. How education was my way out of ending up a statistic.
That reluctance to write about race is what kept me from speaking about the Trayvon Martin case for so long. I didn’t want to hear, “well, he’s black, he must have done something.” I didn’t want to face the stereotypes. But I am raising a black boy in my household and I decided to stop hiding from race on my blog. I proud to be black woman. I come from people that have overcome slavery poverty, racism, and hatred. My opinions and experiences are colored by race. I can’t help that. But I’m tired of not blogging about certain things and issues because it might be controversial. Like I said on twitter last week, if you dont like it, unfollow. I won’t be in your face militant with it, but I won’t hide from it either. Because some things are too important NOT to blog about.
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This was my 5 minute Stream of Consciousness Sunday post. It’s five minutes of your time and a brain dump. Want to try it? Here are the rules…
- Set a timer and write for 5 minutes.
- Write an intro to the post if you want but don’t edit the post. No proofreading or spellchecking. This is writing in the raw.
- Publish it somewhere. Anywhere. The back door to your blog if you want. But make it accessible.
- Add the Stream of Consciousness Sunday badge to your post.
- Link up at allthingsfadra.com
- Visit your fellow bloggers and show some love.
Cam | Bibs & Baubles
Wednesday 4th of April 2012
thanks for this post. i've had some of the same thoughts... i agree that being authentically you is the way to go.
i wish we didn't have to have these discussions and explain so much of who we are and why we feel like we do but... this is the world we live in and the hand we've been dealt. every now and then we've got to speak on it.
Fadra
Sunday 1st of April 2012
Race is part of who you are so it's hard not to address it. As a white woman, I know the world generally refers to others with the assumption that they are white and specifying if they are anything different. When it's reversed, and I'm specifically called a white woman, it makes me extremely self-conscious. Not the same but it's a start.
Shining My Little Light | Just Another Day with MrsTDJ
Friday 30th of March 2012
[...] are some things you wish you could blog about but can’t?”. One of my blog buddies, Rose’s Daughter, opened up in her post. I felt myself leaning toward publishing a draft that has been sitting for [...]
Karen
Tuesday 27th of March 2012
I have lots of things I don't blog about, mostly because my father in law and my sister read my blog. I have things to say about family that are better left unsaid when they know you blog. Someday though, I am going to let it all hang out.
Krissy
Monday 26th of March 2012
I'm with you on this! I am gonna talk about whatever I feel is important to me on my blog and if people don't like it, they don't have to read it.