I don’t fit in your boxes.

Belva Brown Jordan,
Claremont, CA.

Often, people make assumptions when they see me, before actually meeting me or knowing anything about me. They think they know which “box” to put me in. Based on little information they assume to know who I am, where I come from, what I experienced as a child, my intellectual ability, what my bias are, who I’m interested in dating, etc. Some people say, “she’s a Black woman, she must be angry;” or “she’s a Black woman, why isn’t she angry?” Some say, “you can’t do that; Black people don’t ________(fill in the blank.” Selecting a box from the shelf and working to fit me in, just doesn’t work. Such an exercise some times squeezes me out of existence. No, I don’t fit in your boxes.