Value Black-Ass Lives. Full Stop.
Welcome to the 71st installment of This Black-Ass Life! This week we want to celebrate the fact that Black Lives Matter because of who we are and not because of anything we do. Keep reading for self-care tips so you can take care of your Black-ass life because YOU matter and check out Other Things for entertainment recommendations.
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l. The Facts
The historical view of Africa as a dark space, and Black people as an unaccomplished people, is pervasive throughout history. A British historian once said of the continent, “there is only the history of the Europeans in Africa … the rest is largely darkness.” From Joseph Conrad to Pumpkin Spice Putin’s shit-hole countries comment to racist international policies, this belief is very much alive.
In response, Black people, both in the U.S. and around the world, have developed a particular Afrocentric essentialism that super-exaggerates the royal elements of pre-colonial Africa in stark contrast to the white western narrative of Africans as primitive and ignorant.
You see this throughout Black popular culture. It’s the reason why all successful film imaginings of Africa focus on monarchy (Coming to America, Black Panther and The Lion King), it’s why people ask African immigrants if they are royalty (the vast majority of us are not).
It’s why Hoteps and Hoteptresses remind us, as Marcus Garvey once did, that we are all Kings and Queens. It’s why, despite a debunking of the Black Egyptian Hypothesis, people are still out here trying to draw their lineage through Nerfetiti and King Tut.
While it isn’t exactly terrible for Black people to think of ourselves as royalty, to have high regard for who we are and what we have accomplished, it is terrible is that we even have to think of ourselves as exceptional royalty to be worthy of existence and dignity.
Why does it matter?
Black exceptionalism doesn’t make Black people more valuable. Believing that Black lives matter means valuing the lives of Black people. Full stop. We do ourselves and others a disservice when we refer to people as valuable because of the ways in which they served their loved ones and communities.
This extends across communities. A person does not need to be a parent, child, cousin, neighbor, step-sibling to you for you to recognize that they should be safe and protected. We need to shift the language of “but she was a mom!” “he was a good dad!” “they were a gold-star community service volunteer!” These families and communities experience unspeakable trauma and tragedy in loss, but our first concern should be for the person whose life was snatched away.
It’s also time to divorce value of work from how we show compassion to a person. We are not our work. It is heart-shattering that Breonna Taylor was murdered in her sleep, but we need to calm down on the notion that it’s heart-shattering because she was an EMT. It’s devastating because she was a vibrant young woman whose life was tragically cut short.
What can my Black ass do?
Celebrate personhood because of who people are and not what they do.
Celebrate your Black-ass personhood by taking time for you:
Try these self-care tips for Black people courtesy of the NMAAHC.
Try these tips if you’re having trouble sleeping. On average, we don’t sleep as well as our white counterparts and that seriously affects our health.
ll. Other Things
Things you should check out
Saweetie’s Pretty Bitch freestyle is a HIT.
There is literally no better entertainment out right now than Ziwe Fumodoh’s Thursday night Instagram LIVE show, putting people on the spot on race.
Watch Crip Camp, a documentary about a groundbreaking summer camp for teens with disabilities.
Watch Disclosure, a documentary tracing the history of trans representation in Hollywood and the impact of that representation on trans lives.
We’re proud members of Jasmine Guillory hive. Read her latest: Party of Two.
Check out this video of Frederick Douglass’ descendants reciting “What to the Slave Is The Fourth of July?”
Also all respect and love to Anna Murray-Douglass. History is complicated, y’all.
For sunny nostalgia that holds up, head to Disney+ for The Proud Family and Smart Guy or bop over to Netflix for the lovely Baby-Sitters Club show adaptation of the book series.
Our Black-Ass song(s) of the week (Mitu):
Ungodly Hour is a perfect album and every Chloe x Halle performance has been perfect. Here’s their perfect BET Awards performance.
Things we are looking forward to / things we are not looking forward to:
I (Jumoke) look forward to spending time with my family this Christmas. I wish everyone would wear masks and stay the fuck home as much as possible so this can actually be a reality.
I (Mitu) look forward to these fireworks hopefully slowing down.
lll. Text from a Black-Ass Mama
My (Mitu’s) mama decided to break out the good sheets because life is short and she needed to stop storing them away. Take a page out of her book; break out the good whatever-it-is that you’re saving for a special occasion!
Stay Black, thrive and recognize and celebrate the inherent value of our collective humanity! We’ll hit your inbox next on July 20.