On Blogging

The best thing about having a blog is also the worst thing about having a blog -- people always expect you to have something to say. And so, when something big happens, people flock to you for your opinion on it. I love this and I hate this.

Running my own blog has put my voice out there in a way far more effective than I expected. (The fact that people actually read this is insane to me.) Because I blog mainly about my opinions and thoughts on social issues, societal norms, etc., people look to me for reactions to a lot of what's going on in the world.

I love this, because it's led to so many great conversations with so many great people. I love that people feel like I may have something even remotely relevant to say, or that they feel like I could contribute to an intellectual or stimulating conversation. These talks have both strengthened my belief in something and led to me completely changing my mind. I have learned so much from these discussions, and I am extremely grateful to have been part of them.

But I hate it, because sometimes, I have nothing to say. Of course, I'm always willing to simply listen in on the discussion. And when I do this I learn and gain lots of knowledge and understanding. The problem is that a lot of the time, people want me to chime in. But when you ask me how I feel about yet another innocent black teenager being gunned down by the police, there is nothing I can say. I can't talk to you about the slaughter of children. I cannot talk to you about vicious hate crimes against the LGBT community.

I know I'm opinionated and rarely hesitant to participate in a good conversation, but I just have no words for certain situations. I'll have thoughts, opinions, ideas... just no way to form them in a way that anyone else will understand. Some things just hit too hard for me to articulate my feelings about them.

"Artsy White Girl Shit"

So my cousins from out of town came to visit for the weekend. They came into my room and looked around. Looked at the art and photography I have hanging up; looked at my collection of magazines; looked at the corkboard on the wall by my bookshelf and one asked, "So... what's up with all this... artsy... white girl shit?".

Artsy white girl shit.

The others laughed and agreed. Apparently, I was trying to be white.

It made me feel the exact same way I feel when people tell me that I "talk/act" white. Is speaking proper English a behavior that is reserved for white people? Along with reading, and writing, and now, being into art?

Believing that I have no business being interested in or appreciative of art, simply because I'm black is absurd. My melanin does not contribute to my interests at all. And even if the fact that I'm black did matter, it would only give me more of a reason to love art.

Black people are and  have been major contributors to the art world. From ancient African art, to the Harlem Renaissance, to the Hip Hop movement, to the works of present day. We've had a significant impact on fine art, photography, music, literature, film and dance. To suggest that art, and the appreciation of art, is exclusively for white people is ridiculous. I cannot stress the importance of black people's participation in the arts. We help push the limits and revolutionize art.

Like is it even possible to make a list of artistic, black geniuses? Should I even try? Is there even enough time to finish such an extensive list? I mean there's Maya Angelou, Simmie Knox, Spike Lee, Faith Ringgold. There's Henry Ossawa Tanner, Smokey Robinson, Lauryn Hill, Alice Walker, Jimmy Hendrix, Lorna Simpson, James Van Der Zee, Lee Daniels. There's Horace Pippin, Louis Armstrong, Erykah Badu, Jill Scott. There's Forest Whitaker, Toni Morrison, Mos Def, Talib Kweli, Langston Hughes, Ruby Dee, Sidney Poitier. Jean-Michel Basquiat, Stevie Wonder, Lorraine Hansberry, Ernest Gaines, Gordon Parks, etc., etc., etc. I could go on and on and on.

And literally all other races have been major contributors, too.

Art is not a "white" thing. Art is a human thing.