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Being Black in Realtion to other blacks; In Relation to Whites-Any Truth??? (649 hits)

In in his book "Black Skin, White Mask," Frantz Fanon discussed the consequences of having a culture forced upon you. Though he was speaking of the French colonization of the island of Martinique the same issues applies to Black America. We were forcefully emmersed into a new culture and had no other choice but to assimilate. Fanon said this left the colonized people in a situation where they are split between two worlds- their inherited culture and the culture that permiates in the society around them. Fanon stated that they where faced with this dilemma- having to be black in relation to other backs and having to be black in relation to white people. Is there any truth to this? If so what have been your experiences and how you dealt with it? If not why not?

Posted By: Tristan Gross
Friday, September 26th 2008 at 5:17PM
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I too have read this book. It is some truth to this. Think about it, many of us make every attempt to make sure we are not perceived in the same light of some of our own people ( those that choose to live a life of crime, the so called "ghetto mental" and at the same time we work very hard to so that we are not inferior to whites has some choose to perceive black people in general. In doing either we also hold on to the not forgetting where we came from. As for the how I deal with it, I just be me and don't consign to the notion that I only fit into the catagories that have been placed for us to fit in.
Friday, September 26th 2008 at 11:47PM
Marquerite Burgess

Mozell I believe that we must know where we come from in order to fully understand where we're going. True you have to make your own way. But at the same time you want to hold on to your sense of identity. And yeah we all know that brother (or sister) that just looks black. But talk to them. I bet they have had bad racial experiences just as we have. They have been plagued with being stereotyped at some point. What I'm asking is if you have found this dilemma to be true, how do you deal? This may not have been your experience and if so I'm happy for you because it's not easy. As a semi-successful young black man I often find myself feeling caught in the middle of two worlds. Neither of which fully accepts me. It's a tough situation sometimes. I'm just looking for people who have navigated their way through this and asking for tips.
Monday, September 29th 2008 at 9:41AM
Tristan Gross