Identity, Culture and Community Pt 1.

Recently, I saw a clip of a white man yelling obscenities and flaunting offensive signage at the BET Awards.

I’m not going to post the video or give that man any more attention because I refuse to let someone else’s ignorance dictate my peace.

What I will say is this: every major institution in this country has, at some point, been used to oppress Black people. The effects of slavery, segregation, redlining, mass incarceration, underfunded schools, and the erasure of our history don’t simply disappear with time. Those things have shaped generations.

At the same time, I believe we have to be honest with ourselves. We are navigating a culture and identity crisis. Somewhere along the way, many of us were disconnected from our history, our traditions, and our sense of collective responsibility. We have to rebuild that.

I don’t want our greatness to be measured only by entertainment or sports. We are innovators, educators, healers, entrepreneurs, scientists, builders, and leaders. We have always been more than what the world chooses to spotlight.

While traveling recently, I found myself looking around airports and feeling strangely alone. I kept asking myself, “Where are my people?” The few Black faces I did see often weren’t American-born Black people. It reminded me how deeply I’ve been thinking about identity, ancestry, belonging, and what community really means.

I’m tired of hearing that we’re “resilient.” We shouldn’t have to keep surviving systems that were never built for us. But I also know we’re powerful. And if we reconnect with our history, invest in one another, rebuild our communities, and reclaim pride in who we are beyond what entertains the world, there’s no limit to what we can create together.

That’s the conversation I want us to have, not whatever spectacle someone was hoping to create.