Last week, I was asked what it was like to be a black student at Auburn.
At first, I didn't quite know how to answer that question. With me being often teased when I was younger for not being "black" enough, my first thought was that I was the wrong person to answer that kind of question.
But after doing some thinking, I decided to attend the Black Student Alliance meeting Monday night in the Student Center.
The room was full of people who looked like me, but their thought process was much different. As the main speaker approached the podium a power point slide appeared on two large projection screens placed on either side of the room. The slide contained a discussion topic which said something like "when to be black."
The room was soon full of raised hands eager to contribute their opinions on the topic to the conversation. One of the participants stated that she spoke "Ebonics 90 percent of the time," but when in a classroom or professional setting, she spoke "proper" English. Others went on to speak about when and when not to behave in a "black" manner.
But what exactly is "black" behavior?
According to what I learned on Monday night, it could be defined as the following: speaking in Ebonics, listening to loud music, wearing trousers below the waist, sporting a fitted cap to the side, etc. Let's be honest: we've all seen "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air." We know what it means.
However, I find it unfair to label these attributes as "black." If being unprofessional and sloppy means you're black, then does the opposite mean you're white?
When we associate a particular race with a certain behavior, we view an entire group of people a certain way just because of their skin tone, which is the definition of racism.
It would be more appropriate to call it out for what it really is - plain old ignorance.
Blacks aren't the only people who speak Ebonics and wear clothes two sizes too big, just like blacks weren't the only race to ever be enslaved. But somewhere along the line we were branded with this image, which is wrong.
If we see black as nothing more than a skin tone, then it becomes a constant state of being which we shouldn't have to hide away from people like some dirty little secret.
While I am a black student, at the end of the day, I'm still just a student.
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