WHAT IS IT LIKE LIVING IN THE UNITED STATES BORN AS AN AFRICAN AMERICAN OR BLACK FEMALE (MEANING THE VOID OF LIGHT) PERSON

February 29, 2024

WHAT IS IT LIKE LIVING IN THE UNITED STATES BORN AS AN AFRICAN AMERICAN OR BLACK FEMALE (MEANING THE VOID OF LIGHT) PERSON

Author: Sarai Hannah Ajai, Sarai Ajai's Briefs

ARTICLE

Black History Month

Please note that the African American or Black racial category has evolved beyond solely comprising individuals from the United States. It now encompasses a diverse range of racial groups from various countries. Just a heads-up, it is essential to specify which African American or Black individual deviates from this diverse conglomerate of racial groups. Personally, I have often hoped that the United States Census would divide the African American or Black category into sub-racial categories, similar to how they have done with the Hispanic racial group who come from other regions of Mexico country.

I have experienced from my academic achievements and discriminations for which, I have to endured from African Americans and people of colors including my family members because of their “what I do not have analysis should be the same”, as my educational attainments and economic status. Even though, those African American and people of colors had not done anything to help their own advancements for educational attainments and economic stability.  

Living in the United States, as an African American or Black individual female are characterized by the void of light which is a complex and challenging experience that often defies the simplistic narratives of success and progress. From my earliest memories influenced by my parents, the path seemed straightforward: finish high school, pursue higher education, and hope for a life free of struggle. However, the reality, I have face, as an African American born female in the United States is far from the idealized vision my parents painted. 

Born into citizenship within a nation marked by its history of slavery and systemic racism even when I achieve educational attainment, I am confronted with harsh truth of the 13th Amendment's legacy, which permits involuntary servitude under the guise of criminal injustices and now enforced compulsory conditions of identity segregation involuntary servitude without legal due process of law. These acts, performed under the color of law and invoking the Thirteenth (13th) amendment, resulted in my identification of goods instruments slavery. Such slavery, caused by the people of color are masked, concealed, camouflaged, or disguised, as a modern-day intangible slavery in the 21st century. Despite being a United States citizen, my identity and very existence, as an African American female are questioned and invalidated due to the color of my skin and educational attainments. And, since, I have achieved those educational attainments than my educational attainments no longer belong to me but another color or race groups . The societal perception of what it means to be African American or Black female is very narrow and often excludes those who do not fit societal prescribed stereotypes and scapegoat or gaslighting propagandas schemes. 

The burden of expectation weighs heavily on me. I am expected to conform to a predetermined image and color of what it means to be African American or Black female in America, yet I have found myself constantly marginalized and discriminated against, even within my own African American community and the people from the continent of Africa and Mexico and the United States Indian Territories because I do not subscribe and conform to their groups “ Ghetto Behaviors and Languages’, “NAPPY HAIR Do”, “Homosexual Acts”, “Brick House Body Types” and “Uneducated person. The pressure to adhere to their stereotypes, to embody a caricature of Blackness, is suffocating and it is like trying to fit a square peg into a circle that does not fit in. And when I refuse to conform, when I assert my individuality and refuse to be pigeonholed, I am met with hostility, ostracism and African American or Black persons racism. 

The discrimination, I have face is not confined to external forces; it permeates even the closest circles of family and community and the people from the continent of Africa and Mexico and the United States Indian Territories. There is a pervasive attitude of "what I do not have, you should not have either," a toxic mentality that stifles progress and perpetuates cycles of poverty and underachievement. Despite my academic accomplishments and aspirations for economic stability, I am met with skepticism and resentment from those who fail to recognize their own complicity in perpetuating systemic barriers. 

The toll on my mental health is profound. The constant barrage of microaggressions, the relentless scrutiny of my identity and achievements, pushes me to the brink of despair. The feeling of being trapped, of being defined by others' expectations and prejudices, is overwhelming. Despite reaching out for help, for understanding, I am met with indifference and disbelief that I am making all of this up. The struggle to assert my own identity, to reclaim my sense of self-worth in a society that seeks to diminish it, is a battle fought on multiple fronts continuously.

In conclusion, my experience of living in the United States, as an African American or Black female individual is fraught with multiple challenges and contradictions. My existence is a constant negotiation between societal expectations and personal identity, between the desire for acceptance and the refusal to be confined by societal stereotypes. Until we confront the systemic injustices that perpetuate inequalities and discriminations in the United States will always remain a double edge sword, to people who have my skin color pigmentations, and the promise of equality and opportunity will remain elusive for generations to come including within my own race group. 

This concludes, “Black History” month 2024 with numerous of erroneous identity “Black” caveats.