What is Black and what does it look like?

Many people have different views of what being black is and what being black constitutes to. This topic hits home for me because it has been revolving around me my entire life. My mother and father were immigrants who came to the United States in 1990 to provide a better opportunity for my siblings and I. Therefore, I was born in the United States, but my parents being born in Ethiopia made me question how to define my ethnicity. On paper, I am labeled as an African American, but in person I am Ethiopian. So throughout my childhood and now into my adult life I ask myself about the meaning of “Being Black.”

I can remember as early as Elementary school where I noticed the distinct differences I had with other kids my age. For example, I grew up in a bilingual household and I noticed the way I spoke was different, as well as my facial features, and my upbringing. Throughout middle school and high School, I could never fit in. The black kids wouldn’t accept me into their group or even recognize me as black. They said I looked “Saudi Arabian or Indian.” and couldn’t understand how a black person could have different facial features. It always bothered me because I always wanted to fit in. There were times that I would lie and say I was mixed, or that I was black just so that I could have friends that were like me when in reality I had friends because I was trying to be like them. Finally, my mother told me  to stop hiding my ethnicity, but to embrace my identity.

 

 

 

As a Black community, we need to know how to accept other people of African descent with an open mind. To me, I feel like my coming of age is happening right now. I’ve noticed now that I don’t need to fit anyone’s descriptions or expectations of what it means to be a black person. I am Isaiah Tafari Makonnen, I am an Ethiopian- American, that is bilingual, that is learning to be more open-minded to people who do not understand my ethnicity. and I’m proud to be where I’m from and I am learning how to educate my peers about my culture and heritage. I know realize that it is possible to have more than one definition of “being black” and it is my responsibility to spread awareness to those around me.