What Value Does Being Black Hold For Me?
“To put it simply, Black joy and love requires us to establish a world that values variety and equality and the worth of being Black. Being Black to me means everything.”
Black Joy. Black Love. The Black community's celebration of contentment, resiliency, and togetherness. Blackness entails taking pleasure in shared experiences, cultural manifestations, and the courage gained from conquering adversity in the past. Black love isn’t just about romance; it includes ties to family, friendships, and a feeling of oneness throughout the community.
Embracing Black joy and love means acknowledging and celebrating Black accomplishments, Black culture, and Black identity in all of its forms. We can see Black joy everywhere in our community when, for example, young Black children make Tik Toks of a Black family attending a graduation to support their loved ones. This all connects to a deeper value of what being black means to me.
Being Black has values to me.
It includes a deep connection to my unique cultural heritage, as I am both Puerto Rican & Jamaican. It also includes a shared history of triumphs and struggles, and a sense of pride in my identity. Being Black to me often involves navigating through societal structures that may pose challenges. Because of this, resilience and self-determination are key aspects of my identity. The value of being Black lies in contributing to the richness of our global culture through sharing unique perspectives, artistic expressions, and intellectual contributions. We are trendsetters. The way we speak impacts the way everyone speaks.
More broadly, being Black also means promoting fairness and justice, and trying to eliminate structural injustice. It means advocating for inclusivity and appreciating the beauty of variety. Being Black is about being a part of the larger fabric of the human experience, highlighting the significance of appreciating and honoring the distinctive contributions that Black people make to society. There are so many positive aspects of Black culture that are worth taking note of. Some positive aspects associated with Black culture that I find noteworthy are the various music, dance, literature, and fashion contributions made to this generation.
The world's creative network of dance, music, art, language, and invention that has greatly enhanced human experience would not exist without Black culture. Literature, fashion, and popular culture are just a few of the areas in which black culture has shaped and affected modern civilization. Eliminating Black culture contributions would mean losing the creative thinking, determination, as well as the distinct viewpoints that have fueled advancement and motivated countless individuals in this world. In order to create a more diverse, vibrant, and culturally complex world that values the contributions of all of its citizens, it is imperative that we embrace and value Black culture.
To put it simply, Black joy and love requires us to establish a world that values variety and equality and the worth of being Black. Being Black to me means everything. Thank you Black culture for all the positive aspects you contribute to this generation, because it largely impacted both the young woman I am today and the numerous black children alive today.