Growing up in PWI, a predominantly white institution, as a young Black girl can be detrimental to growth and development as it relates to our identity. We are constantly labeled as one thing and put into a box. We try and try to escape this box, cutting holes and trying to punch through it, but instead of escaping, we end up just hurting ourselves.
It is never the outright acts of racism that put us down within the classroom because most of the time our white counterparts, peers, and classmates know better than to be outrightly racist. Rather, it is the micro-aggressions, the subtle looks, the silly comments that get us down. It is extremely hurtful to have to attend schools every day for years in which everyone around you is of one demographic, the one that you are not.
While it is true that Black Americans have overcome an abundance of trials and tribulations, that is not to say that we are in the best possible place that we can be. While many of us have gotten away from generational poverty, redlining, and the perpetuated system of racism that has been established to put Black people down; the majority of us are still trapped in that mindset, if not the lifestyle as well.
In the world that we currently live in, to be Young, Gifted, and Black is to have to fight for every inch of space that you take up. It is having to justify every belief that you have and every choice that you make. It is to always act under the assumption that those around you want you to fail. It is to work harder for every single opportunity that is presented to you because no matter what people say, race is always a factor. To be Young, Gifted, and Black is to have your family, and your family only to be your support system. It is to be trapped in an environment in which many people do not look like you or share your experiences. It is to carry the weight of hundreds of thousands of generations of your people in bondage on your back. To be Young, Gifted, and Black is to live in a beautifully broken system. A system in which you should be at the top, and yet are lessened and lowered because of the world that we currently live in. To be Young, Gifted, and Black is to overcome. It is to be at the top of your game. It is to work harder than you could ever imagine. To be Young, Gifted, and Black is to be brilliant, beautiful, and able to overcome any obstacles, trials, and tribulations that are thrown at you.
It is extremely difficult and testing to be Young, Gifted, and Black in the current condition of the world but it is necessary for the success of our people. As a Black woman, there are unacceptable expectations that are put upon us. We need to prioritize redefining what it means to be Young, Gifted, and Black on our terms rather than conforming to the practices and ideas that others try to force on us!
