The heart, not skin color
My response to the letter "Won't
marry down"
Dear Sara,
Thanks for your response. It is very informative but misguided. Regardless
to what you consider yourself to be the truth is, you're not white. I don't
say this as a put down just merely stating a fact. Be it White, Black,
brown, yellow, or red we are all from God and no one is superior.
Before I met my girlfriend I knew racism existed everywhere but was
under the impression that it was more toxic here in America. I have received
e-mail from all over the world most from Iranian women but some from Iranian
men. Every e-mail that I received was of support and empathy. My girlfriend
was the first Iranian woman I had ever really spent time with. The fact
that she is Iranian had nothing to do with the way I feel about her. The
reason I love her is because she is a very good person whom I admire and
respect. Thanks to the Internet, I know have a lot of new Iranian friends
write me since I submitted
my letter.
Let me say, I am deeply saddened when I see minorities acting superior
to each other in a desperate attempt to fit in and meet standards that
Europeans and European Americans can't even achieve. I do understand how
people from other countries buy into Eurocentric view because Blacks at
one time bought into the same white is right lie. During the early 1900's
through the 1950's and 60's whites monopolized the movie business and portrayed
Blacks as monkeys, idiots, bumbling fools, rapist, murderers, or any deviant
character white film directors could think of. These movies where viewed
here in America and abroad. Unfortunately Blacks started seeing themselves
and Africans as less than. We began hating ourselves and our Black features.
I saw firsthand how Blacks would gravitate to the fairer skin Black believing
them to be better looking, smarter, and all around closer to white. We
thought the had better hair, better features, and would be more successful.
What a stupid view. When anyone referred to us as African, many Blacks
would remember the images of Africans being portrayed as maniacs in the
Tarzan movies and felt shame.
Thank God for those great African Americans who put their lives on the
line to instill confidence, respect, and self love in the hearts and minds
of African Americans who were the recipient of media genocide. Marcus Garvey,
Medger Evers, Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X, Harriet Tubman, Frederick
Douglass, Jesse Jackson, Muhammad Ali, Eligha Mohammad, Michael Jordan,
Sidney Poiter, George Washington Carver, Booker T. Washington, Mary Bethune
Cookman, Benjamin Baniker are only a few men and women of African descent
that help give us pride to stand like men.
The emergence of Black pride frightened the white American establishment
so much that they began assassinating all or most Black leaders. If they
didn't kill them, they continued to try and damage them through the media
which is a very powerful tool as you know.
I am also saddened when I see my Mexican, Iranian, Palestinian, Pakistani,
Asian, and Arab brother and sisters trying so hard to act white. They are
doing exactly what Blacks use to do. I am very happy we learned that a
square peg doesn't fit in a circular hole. Every minority group that I
see immigrating to this country goes through this selfhatred. I realized
early on that even white people suffer from this Supremacy view that Madison
Square cooked up. I have known many white people from Europe and throughout
America and I will tell you they love our brown and black skin and characteristics.
They love our rhythmic talk, movement, courage, and enduring strength that
has carried us as a people through slavery and continued racism that continues
today. I personally know and have read about white women and men who repeatedly
spends thousands of dollars on cometic surgery in an attempt to look perfect.
The women also starve themselves trying to look like the anorexic model,
and the men carry on as if have all the answers. What a heavy burden that
must be. Each spring they lie in the sun trying to brown their bodies at
the risk of skin cancer.
I understand how people accept the misguided views of supremacy but
the only supreme being is God!!!!!!! This marrying down Idea is a racist
view people use to elevate themselves. I am from a medical background and
have dissected bodies of different races, and studied the physiology of
man and know that we are much more alike than different. According to Scientist
the world over, the origin of man is Central Africa. They will tell you
that as the population grew and land became scarce, man migrated north
south east and westward. Scientist also tells us that all other humans
are descendants of the original man, no matter where you live now. This
is not my view rather from science, however It confirms my belief that
we are all brothers and sisters of many shades. I think the worst thing
we can do is infect the next generation with despicable racist views and
opinions of how fairer skin is a higher form of existence while darker
skin is subservient. How idiotic. I curse that ignorant view. No matter
what religion one prescribes to, If you truly believe in God then you will
see that color is not important. We need to pay more attention to the heart
and less to the color of ones skin. At the end of the day, if we love and
respect ourselves, our ethnic characteristic, and those who are not like
us, life will be so much easier.
Michael
Earlier
letter from Michael
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