What Is Black?  

zorascreation:

Black is an essence. It is language, vibe, intonation, body language. Water. The element of change. Black people are accustomed to flowing in and out of things and changing and creating newness out of nothingness. 

Black is a culture.  Jazz, calypso, soul/neo-soul, hip-hop, rap, country (yes, country, read up on your music history), rock n’ roll, the basis of “modern dance”, Negro spirituals, dancehall, reggae, spoken-word poetics.

Black is Spirit. Africanisms of yipping, whooping, call-and-response, ring shouts and counter-clockwise movement. The Mourning Bench, praise-houses, Black Theology, Christian witchcraft, Mami Wata, Conjure, Hoodoo, Haitian Vodoun, Louisiana Voodoo, Santería, haint blue protections, fetishes, gris-gris, nation sacks, mojo bags, bottle trees, the Seven African Powers. Mystery. 

Black is a political statement. It is Angela Davis, Assata Shakur, Fannie Lou Hamer, Louis Armstrong, Alice Walker, Malcolm and Martin, Prince Hall, Zora Neale Hurston, Frederick Douglass, Araminta Ross and Mother Sojourner. 

Black is an ethnicity. It is nappy, kinky, curly locks and tresses. High Yellow, Redbone, Yellowbone, Blue-Black, High Brown, Vaseline Brown, Coal Black. Beauty.