A Taste of Blackness: Part 1
The ode to the Oreo


I start the next blog with a fair degree of hesitation. I say this because this blog is extremely personal. I know most blogs come with a fair degree of editorializing but this one is near and dear to my heart. In my twenty-eight years on this planet I have always felt like I did not fit in. Moreover, I didn’t fit in with my own “people”. I don’t say race because there is only one “race” but I have always felt that my ethnicity was a burden. What I mean by a burden is that by being an African-American I am supposed to “act black”. I have yet to totally deduce what this means but I will try to get to the root of this code of conduct that I was born into yet someone seem to fail to conform to.

For those of you who do not know, an “oreo” is a negative reference to someone of color who has “Caucasian” characteristics. In essence, someone who is black on the outside, in reference to their skin color but someone does not “act” the way a black person should therefore they are white on the inside. There is a similar derogatory remark for Asians. Instead of “oreoes” they are called “twinkies”. I do not know how Asians regard this racial slur but I do not think it goes over too well.

The big question is why people think that there is an overwhelming desire to be a Caucasian? I mean, don’t get me wrong. I have lots of white friends and work with white people at my job but I feel quite comfortable in my own skin. That is part of the problem. It seems like my skin has defined me to the general public. Does the amount of melanin in one’s skin do more than just produce color? Is there a sociological effect as well?

Let’s think about my plight. As a black man, there are certain expectations/presumptions that occur. The first presumption that I have faced is that just because a man are large he must have played football and that his ultimate goal is to play in the NFL. Don’t get me wrong, I love football. I did play football………….in high school and I had a great time playing it, but my collegiate experience and acceptance into said college had nothing to do with my athletic prowess. I find it to be slightly asinine that people never ask, “Did you get an academic scholarship? Did you maintain an “A” average? Did you win writing competitions?” I find the whole situation to be a catch 22. If I say, I did play sports I feed into the problem. If I express any anger, I am accused of being hyper-sensitive.

The next presumption, and that one that infuriates me to no end, is that my speech patterns must reflect whatever is on 106th and Park on BET. I will probably upset a lot of my fellow African-Americans by saying this but…….FUCK BET! BET is fucking horrible! Because of stations like BET and ridiculous programs like 106th and Park that idiotic belief that people of color cannot speak standardized English has been given validity. Moreover, the creation of a subset of language, targeted specifically for African-Americans has been created and has been given academic validity. If you don’t believe me, check out this website (http://www.ebonics-translator.com/ebonics_definitions.php).

The thing about BET that really grinds my gears is that the very same minds that BET wants to enlighten and entertain have been poisoned and manipulated by its programming. BET has the opportunity to decimate the myth that the African-American intellectual is a contradiction in terms. I know there must be more people out there, like myself who feel enraged by the station that supposedly represents them to the public. Maybe I am being too critical, but I believe that BET has a higher responsibility when it is synonymous with an entire ethnicity of people and the best programming it can muster is Hell Date, Baldwin Hills, and College Hill. I am sorry but I do not feel fairly represented by those programs.

I will end this first part by just expressing my lifelong sadness that has come by being classified as an “oreo”. I have been insulted my fair share, and it’s a part of life, but to be exiled from your own people because you chose to think rationally is a pain I would not wish on my worst enemy. I just do not believe that my intellect has nothing to do with the color of my skin. Both are mutually exclusive the last time I checked. Moreover, I do not believe that the popular philosophy portrayed in the media that African-Americans must dive into a self-fulfilling prophecy of blissful ignorance is necessary.

I find myself worse than a man without a country. I find myself a man without a people. I know I like who I am, for the most part. But I also know that is because I am myself that I find myself at odds with a large contingency of African-Americans. And that is my struggle. Where do I fit in? The answer should be simple but the older I get and the firmer my beliefs and values become the wider I see the divide between myself and a large contingency of African-Americans. My hope is that through this series of blogs a peaceable coexistence may be forged, or at least a mutual respect.