We live in a world where society labels Black culture as entertainment, and appropriates the culture, while the Black community’s struggles continue to go unheard. Representation within popular culture, tv shows, media, and politics can have an empowering and uplifting effect on Black youth. Black artists show youth that their creativity and experiences can them better at their craft. President Barack Obama made it possible for Black children to see themselves as an powerful leader. Shows like Doc Mcstuffins teach children that they can help others, be intelligent and have a great life. Luke Cage, and How to Get Away With Murder allow Black americans to finally see themselves on television in successful positions or as heroes. These people, events, and shows boldly represent the Black community and serve as celebrations of our culture. They represent “Blackness” in its’ entirety; the strength, pride, creativity, boldness and beauty that comes with being Black. My essay focuses on what it means to be Black and the importance of the celebrations mentioned above. Using The Fire This Time by today’s millennials and Randall Kenan, as well as my own personal experiences, I can explain more of what it is like to be Black in America. Instead of focusing on how others my see my race as a disadvantage, I focus on what it truly is: Something to take pride in. 

In order to understand the significance and importance of these celebrations, it requires us to reflect on the past and the future. Randall Kenan, author of The Fire This Time, wrote a letter to his godson where he stated that his understanding of  “Blackness” constantly changes. Kenan believes that in order to understand oneself, a person must know about their origins, past, their ancestor’s character, and how their ancestors viewed the future generations (Kenan 22). It goes without saying that knowing what your ancestors endured and the challenges they faced throughout their life can help define your own character. Blackness would not have a clear definition without an origin and a story to go along with it. History not only plays a part in determining what it means to be Black, but also how far our country has progressed, the issues we still face, and why these “celebrations” matter.

One of my other sources, a critique of Black Comics: Politics of Race and Representation by Sheena C. Howard and Ronald L. Jackson II, shows the type of progression mentioned above. This comic made history as the first comic written by a Black author who received the Eisner award, although the awards have existed for twenty five years. People have turned to comics as a source of entertainment for decades, yet the comic book world struggles to solve issues regarding race and representation. Very few Black comic books authors exist, and even fewer Black superheroes exist, but the list of Black villains looks endless. This lack of representation calls into question how Black people may see themselves if every time they look through a comic book, and it always portrayed Black people as the villain. Comics serve as just one form of mass media that reinforces stereotypes of  Black men and women. Lately, comic book writers are pushing to turn their comics into movies or shows,  and America’s super heroes are being depicted in movie theaters nationwide. More shows are being created, for example, Netflix added Flash, Arrow, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Jessica Jones  and numerous other comic book based shows. But just recently Luke Cage became the first Black superhero to get his own comic and television show. 

For years, representation has caused endless issues for the Black community. Everywhere we look, the world sees us as a minority or places us in a negative light. If media reinforces those same stereotypes and mantras, how should I feel about being Black? This may not sound like a problem, but how can Black people find a place in a society that does not represent them. Where does an entire race go when no direction or voice can speak for the community? Growing up, I lived in a town where eighty-three percent of the population was Caucasian. I went to a predominately white school, where I took honors classes my entire life. Most of that time I was alone, and I did not see many Black people around me. I had no clue who I was or where I would possibly fit in. 

My interactions as I grew up slowly shaped me into the person I was before college began. In third grade, I remember getting an answer wrong and this kid saying, “You know why you got it wrong right? Because you’re Black”. Although he followed with “I’m just kidding”, he had already changed the way I viewed myself. I soon thought about other things that I was not good at, and learned to blame it on my race as others did. After that incident, racial inferiority became an ideal that stuck with me. One incident that still hits me hard was when someone I considered a friend asked if I showered everyday, and another girl said “Of course, she’s not really an ape.” What was even more shocking was the laughter that followed from various people around me who saw nothing wrong with anything that happened or was said. In high school, everyone turned to me for answers about Black people; hair, new dances, fashion, and general stereotypes. They asked me to answer questions about Black as a whole, as if we were all the same person, even things I had never said or done before, which often times confused me and lead to people claiming that I was not Black. I did not fit into the stereotype placed on Black females, so I began to question who I was even more frequently. Without seeing other Black people or having an understanding of what it meant to be Black, besides what my family tried to instill in me, confusion and pain followed me with every event I faced.

In Queries of Unrest, Clint Smith wrote:

Maybe that because when I was a kid

A white boy told me I was marginalized

And all I could think of was the edge

Of a sheet of paper, how empty it is-

The abyss I was told never to write into (Smith 99-100)

I found that way too many of my interactions with people of other races ended with them telling me that I did not matter and should stop trying. Just last year someone asked if I was the first person in my family to go to college and after I replied he turned to his friend and goes “See, Black people don’t go to college.” That comment left me speechless, and still to this day I can not think of any response that would express how I felt after that. I could never speak up without classmates immediately refuting everything I said and shutting me down. They ignored my ideas and opinions, refused to listen to me, and disrespected me. If I turned to anger to express myself, they dismissed me and my reasoning behind my rage. My reminder that I should never try to do or be anything came everyday, whether it was from a stranger or someone that I considered a friend. Up until this year, I was never able to completely identify what that feeling was. I found my voice and place, and learned that the voices of those who tried to marginalize me were silenced. 

Being a female only makes my experiences even more difficult, considering the misogynistic world we live in. The way Black women are depicted in film made it harder for me to understand who I was. During an interview with Edie Falco, Viola Davis talked about her experiences as a Black female actor. She mentioned how society sexualizes Black women, places them in less important roles, and makes their wardrobe and makeup meet european standards of beauty, something impossible for Black women to achieve (Davis). I will never forget one episode of How To Get Away With Murder, where Annalise Keating (played by Viola Davis) took off her straight hair wig, wiped off her makeup, and let her natural hair free (How To Get Away With Murder). It may just seem like a part of the script, but it symbolized so much more. She took off the standard forced on her, and admired her own natural beauty. For years, people have seen natural hair as a bold statement or a protest to beauty standards when in all actuality it signifies self-love and beauty; two standards I have struggled with since I was a little girl. 

Viola Davis, also mentioned how as a little girl white boys would chase her around shouting “ugly Black nigger”(Davis). Although I’ve never had that same experience, I could relate to this story. During middle school guys wouldn’t date me and when asked why, they claimed “I wasn’t their type or I wasn’t pretty”. However, they made a point to talk about how big my butt was or how amazing my body was. That kind of sexualization continued with guys all throughout my life, and seems more common now in college. It was hard to feel smart or beautiful, or even important when people constantly told me otherwise, or put your value in their sexual fantasies. Can you imagine growing up in a world where your skin is a threat and you are told that your worth is less than what you truly are?  In “Where Do We Go From Here”, about how to move forward since the Civil Rights Movement, Isabel Wilkerson wrote “We must love ourselves, even if-and perhaps especially if - others do not” (Wilkerson 61 ).This quote stuck out to me, because I believe all Black people, especially women should learn this. Loving every aspect of ourselves, even the parts people tell us are not beautiful (natural hair, facial features, bodies, and brains) takes a while to learn. The sooner it happens, the easier it is to see the world in the brighter light and appreciate life. Shows like How To Get Away With Murder and actors like Viola Davis remind Black women that we should hold self-love and natural beauty right in our hearts, so it never leaves us.

How To Get Away With Murder is not the only show that has huge social commentary, and shows how far things have progressed. Long before I even knew or thought about representation, I had never seen a Black superhero, until high school. Shockingly just a few years ago the first Black woman won the Eisner award, although the awards ceremony started acknowledging creative achievements within American comic book culture twenty five years ago. Sheena C. Howard and Ronald L. Jackson II wrote a comic called Black Comics: Politics and Representation, which focused on the lack of studies about Black comics. It strived to justify why these comics were necessary, instead of truly studying them. This occurred two years ago, despite comics being around for ages (Frank, Cinema Journal 55). The battle for Black comics to hit mass media or become mainstream has been a struggle, which is why Luke Cage has now become a huge celebration for the Black community. Often times Black superheroes are only sidekicks, or often overlooked for shoes, but the fact that Cage was front and center as the lead for his own show is amazing.

The social commentary Luke Cage added to such a troubling time with gun violence made it so much more powerful. In the opening scene, where Luke emerges as the hero his city needs, he is seen wearing a Black hoodie and bulletproof (Marvel’s Luke Cage). To others it may just appear that being bulletproof is his gift, but it reminded the Black community of Trayvon Martin, a young man who was shot and murdered for looking suspicious walking around with a Black hoodie on, skittles in one hand, and an Arizona tea in the other. Sadly, Martin is not the only young Black adolescent who has lost his life to gun violence or police brutality, but so have many other Black males, each becoming martyrs for protests and hashtags to be made known around the world. Our society has made it clear that Black lives do not matter. It is apparent through the long list of  Black men that have lost their lives over senseless shootings by non Blacks and police, and the flawed judicial system that refuses to stand up for them. 

These shootings and deaths have sadly become so common, that street artists have started creating murals to help people understand the rights they have and how to get justice if the police treats them unjustly. Garnette Cadogan, a Black man, could have been taken to jail or lost his life all for running. He was late to meet with friends and started to jog to get to them sooner, but as he was running he was stopped by cops, hounded with questions, and handcuffed. Even though he stated why he was running and had a good alibi to back it up, they chose to let their fear of the color of his skin determine their decisions. After uncuffing him they told him they had been on the lookout for a Black man who had stabbed someone a few blocks away. Although, they were trying to look out for the community, they let their fear block them from thinking logically. The fear made doing their job more difficult.  He had no blood on him, sweat stains, and a solid alibi they continued to harass him. (Cadogan 129-144) Black men are constantly seen as a threat and cast into one common stereotype: A Criminal. Luke Cage is more than a superhero, the complete juxtaposition that some people hold of Black men, but he represents what many Black men in this day and age wish they could be: Bulletproof.

That is exactly why shows like Luke Cage and How To Get Away With Murder are huge celebrations for the Black community. They unapologetically represent what it means to be Black. Luke Cage takes a stand against police brutality, reverses the stereotype of Black men, and gives little Black boys the idea that they can be great too. How To Get Away With Murder shows that Black women can be smart, beautiful, loving, and strong, all while embracing their natural beauty. Without representation like this, the Black community would have no clue where they fit in in this society or the potential they could reach. I still do not have a complete definition of what it means to be Black, but I do know what it is not. It is not a choice, a bunch of facts to memorize, or a feeling. (Young 105-106, 109) Often times it is living in a constant state of fear and mourning, which is why these little victories are so important. (Rankine 146) They remind people that being Black is not always a scary thing. It means that you are a part of a strong, intelligent, creative, beautiful and amazing community of people who are capable of any and everything. They indicate a more promising future, in which you get to completely narrate your story, instead of allowing those around to write it for you. When life gets hard and you slowly start to forget just how powerful you are, they serve as signs of hope and glimpses of the power you have. These celebrations are and always will be reminders of where I came from and encouragement that I can achieve anything. 
