I think for us Black Americans, because of the way and the society in which we were raised, when we read books about Afrikan thought, we will always balance it against Euro-American thought because that is what we know. Even, the KNOWLEDGE of it has saved lives as well as destroyed them, often in the same stroke.

And so, this will always take place in some kind of cultural vacuum.

However, we must be careful. Careful because those of us who consider ourselves outside of the Euro-American matrix, at our young ages, cannot fully be free from it. Also, because we get shit on everyday, twice the amount, for knowing, feeling and thinking better of what we are fed daily. This can and often does make us a tad defensive. But I think it is a defensiveness that can be understood through, not dismantled because this defensiveness serves other purposes... like keeping those of us who consider ourselves outside of the Euro-American matrix OUT of it and working towards freeing ourselves in all ways.

This is about liberation, y'all. True liberation never comes without some struggle, some pain, some fuck everything.

If you have ever tried going against the grain, you know what I am talking about. I know that everytime I am at the GBLT community center, I find myself stuck in a double consciousness that I must silence because I _know_ better and I _must_ do better if people within this new community of mine are going to change. And this is hard. Because as a person of Afrikan descent who was raised closely to it (meaning, my ancestors stayed close to where they were enslaved), belonging to something bigger than myself... just the thought of it makes me want to swoon! But I know that I have to pick and choose. What will I have to give up? Will I have to become a "normalized" negro? Well, that's ok. Must I pretend that I think white people aren't, unless wresting themselves from the Euro-American matrix, pitiful? Then... that's ok. am I clear?

Peace,

Q


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"americans are gross!" -utamaroho

Uplifting thoughts:

"We are the end result of our ancestors prayers as they died. We you are the sum total of their answered prayers."

"I am because we are; we are because I am."

"falling in love with somebody's soul...their essence their personality their walk their talk the way they speak and smile...no matter what the physical outer body is..male or female...is a temptation i hope i am never foolish enough to resist." - Hot Damali