Am I "Black Enough"? (or, What Would Dr King Think? (2)

Am I black enough?

Am I?

Silly question? Not to some.

Unfortunately, there are those in the black community… people I refer to as "the gatekeepers of blackness" that would tell you that I am most certainly NOT black enough.

Hm.

Many of these people believe, even in 21st centruy America, that in order to "stay black" ( as Malcolm X called it), I have to conform to certain *ahem* "cultural" standards. According to "them", I have to:

Talk a certain way… meaning, not speak the way I do, which is plain, standard English… which translates, to some, as "talking like a white boy" (can I tell you how much this infuriates me?)

According to them, I have to believe a certain set of things, politically, historically, and culturally.

According to them, I have to listen to certain kinds of music… and NOT listen to some others. (you know I am the odd man out, because I am listening to an old KISS recording as I type this).

According to them, I should dress a certain way, and certainly should NOT wear a kilt .

According to them, I'm not supposed to read a lot, unless it is something from Michael Eric Dyson or Terry McMillan (who isn't much of an author, in my opinion)).

According to them, I should regard the recent writings of authors such as Juan Williams, Debra Dickerson, and John McWhorter, as the raving of a few self-loathing "house niggers"... and I must certainly not entertain the comments made by Bill Cosby over the past few years as having any validity.

Hell, according to them, I shouldn't even go to the church that I go to. You see, we black folk have to belong to the "he'p me Lawd! he'p me Jeezus!" kind of church (not that I am criticizing them... I say worship God in your own way). I'm certainly not supposed to be one of those sedate Lutherans ("Lutheran? Boy, don't you know that they are all a bunch of Germans?").

According to them, I shouldn't be married to the sweet woman that I have been married to these past 13 years.

Some of you that are reading this are no-doubt asking yourselves "WTF is Gunfighter talking about?" Well, I hope you will trust me when I tell you that I am dead serious about this.

Some of you are reading this and nodding your heads, because you know EXACTLY what I am talking about.

Some of you might be reading this and getting madder and madder because I am not keeping this in the family… well to those of you that believe that, many of you decided to socially excommunicate me a long time ago…at least as early as 1980, when I was in high school, and had the nerve to stand in front of a class on famous black poets, and recite from memory. Apparently, being able to recite poetry from memory was another one of those things that I wasn't supposed to do.

According to some would-be "leaders" in the black community, we should be striving for some sort of authenticity that is separate from the rest of America. We should try to have everything that anyone else in America can have, but we should hold ourselves apart (Sounds like "seperate, but equal to me")

According to this group of people, we are supposed to resist "assimilation". Personally, I don't get it. Didn't millions of our ancestors have to labor like draft animals in inhumane conditions, or learn to read in secret, or get their heads busted for daring to enter institutions of higher learning, just so we, their heirs, could enjoy this opportunity as full American citizens, with all of the rights and privileges thereunto pertaining?

There are lots of black people like me, made unwelcome by many in our own community, that live "the black experience" every day. To the "gatekeepers", I am putting you on immediate notice: Neither I, nor my philosophical kin need your permission to enter the gate. We are as black as you, and are truly the standard bearers for the best and brightest that we have to offer in this country.

Oh THAT did it, I am sure… I can hear the comment keys clack-clacking even now. Well, write on, I say. I can take you… it won't be hard.

C'mon, try me.