Being Black in America

by Sabrina Acloque

​What does it mean to be Black in America?  It means being angry, tired and scared.  It means being proud but not boastful, walking the fine line between loving your heritage and hoping that it doesn’t draw too much attention so that you are made to feel other.  It means, by default, being Other.  It means trying to fit in.  It means fighting against racism, all the while hoping that its subtle messages of inferiority don’t take hold in your heart.  
 
It means reconciling with the fact that you come from a legacy of people who’ve always worked harder than they’ve ever been given credit for.  It means keeping your eye on the prize, while every day struggling to survive.  It means wanting to leave behind something for your children with the hopes that they’ll have it easier, but every day being reminded that the past is always present.  It means being mother, father, worker and soul warrior.  It means believing in something bigger, even if that faith does not materialize in time to save us now.  It means hoping, praying, fighting, organizing and calling upon all the ancestors in our bloodline to keep going, moving, striving and changing until we achieve what is meant to be wholly ours: freedom.  
 
RIP #BreonnaTaylor #AhmaudArbery #GeorgeFloyd #AllTheFallen
 
You will not be forgotten.