It goes light skin vs. dark skin,
Africans vs. Caribbean,
Black Americans vs. Africans,
East Africans vs. West Africans,
“Hood” vs. “Good” black people
SEE ALSO: Poem: Raise Up the Girl Child
With all these internal conflicts in the Black community, I don’t see anyone being right. All I see is one big family arguing over something petty.
Keep Up With Face2Face Africa On Facebook!
What are we fighting for? What are we so divided for?
WHO are we fighting for? Because we sure ain’t fighting for ourselves.
Why do we put each other down, instead of uplifting each other like we should?
Why do we tell our fellow brothers and sisters to police their behavior?
“Stop being so loud.”
“Stop acting so ratchet.”
“Pull up your pants.”
“Black people like that make us all look bad.”
When will we stop doing this to each other?
When will we realize that we need to stop pointing fingers at ourselves and point fingers at what is REALLY holding us back: the system, not each other.
When will we realize that we have more in common than we think?
Whether you are light skinned or dark skinned,
Whether you are Black American, Afro-Caribbean, Afro-Latino, or African like I am, you are my family.
We are such a diverse and beautiful race.
We share the same history.
We face the same prejudices.
Black men, you are my brothers. I admire your strength. I see you as being a reflection of me.
Black women, you are my sisters.
You are not my competition.
I admire your beauty and your perseverance.
So let’s join hands. Let’s become a community.
We’re all that we have.
Mirembe Zabasajja (pictured) is an 18-year-old New Jersey college student. The daughter of immigrant parents from Uganda, Mirembe is passionate about African-American history and is studying to be a history teacher.
