Elecia Terrell,
Arlington, TX
I’m very proud of my blackness. To many, we’re too loud, always angry, ghetto, love chicken and watermelon, always on government assistance, have too many kids and don’t know who their fathers are, always late, don’t want to work, don’t know how to keep a job, have nappy hair and we always wear weave, always in drama, stay in the hood..the list goes on with these stereotypes, but I’m here to say that you could associate these characteristics with any person of any ethnicity on this earth. For some reason black people have all these stigmas and stereotypes attached to us and it’s not always true. For me, I can relate to all the above characteristics in some way, shape or form, but that does not define me. What defines me is my genuine interests, my ancestral bloodline, my family, my choices. I am only a part of the above listed characteristics and I love every single one about me. I love my thick kinky hair, I love my loud over the top personality, I am late to a lot of things, I enjoy hearing about drama, I get angry at times, and I loveeee me some chicken and watermelon. I am not a walking stereotype, I’m a wonderfully imperfect, flawed yet strong unapologetic BLACK WOMAN.