After countless hours of research, journal readings, and professional interviews I’ve finally concluded my thesis. Some of you might be asking why someone would compose a thesis with no real reason. My answer to that is to better my life and hopefully the lives of others around me. I realize my conclusion will be met with much dispute, and yet I feel that my research is strong enough to put my point out there: black people are OK too.
Some of you may be scratching your heads at this point, I understand. To the passive observer it may appear that people are just living together, and skin color doesn’t even enter into the equation for you. What I’ve noticed is that from time to time there is some racial tension in our society. There are many theories as to the origin of this. While no one will ever really know the reason, my personal suspicion (and historical references will provide some support to this) is that the tension traces back to somewhere around the time of slavery. Obviously historical records are hazy at best, but something big must have happened during that time that really united black people, and separated them from the whites. Whatever it was, it seems to have created some notable separation between the two groups. Did you know that at one point in time black people and white people had different bathrooms, seating sections, and even water fountains? On the surface this might look like a pretty sweet deal, but it turns out in this case that all that glitters isn’t gold. Why, even today there are black people who feel that denoting them as "black" is an inappropriate label. They prefer to be called African Americans. Isn’t it a little arbitrary to pick Africa you ask? No, in fact when examining some genealogy in my studies, I found that a majority of black people can trace their heritage back to the continent of Africa. It seems that this is why the term "African" Americans was picked. In addition to uncovering this fascinating history, I spent hundreds of hours giving surveys, reading journals and history books, and performing clinical research.
I talked, played games, dined, watched TV, and even discussed politics, all with black people! While this was certainly uncomfortable initially, after several months I began to forget I was talking with someone so obviously different from me. Then, after several more months, it began to feel normal, comfortable even. This I when I decided to change my thesis statement entirely from black people are acceptable, to black people are OK too. After this dramatic shift in theory, things began to really get interesting. I learned things about black people that I’d never known before. I’ll bet you weren’t aware that black people take credit for creating the musical genres of blues, gospel, jazz, and “rap”. While artists such as Bud Freeman, Hovie Lister, Dr. John, Johnny Lang, Beastie Boys, and Eminem have led many of us to believe otherwise, it turns out that in the black community it is widely known that, in fact, black people created these styles of music. Also, black people are often gifted athletically. Wait! Hear me out. After hearing this for the first time, I could barely contain my laughter. So I decided to take a road trip to squelch this preposterous notion. My first stop was the professional hockey hall of fame. The number of black people I found here? One. Checkmate! However, I didn’t stop there. I went to the hall's of fame for every major U.S. sport. I think one word sums up what I found: shocked. In fact, it seems, many black people are athletically gifted. I even turned on some current sporting events and found more evidence supporting the claim. I went back with tail between my legs, yet pleasantly enlightened at the same time. In addition to this, I found black people to be intelligent, funny, kind, and generous all supporting my general theory that black people are OK. In addition to my own research, I found countless examples of black people’s achievements in journals and books. Did you know peanut butter was invented by a black person? The delicious, versatile sandwich spread? Yes! It’s true a fellow named Carver came up with it. This is only one example of many.
So in closing, I challenge you. Pay attention to those around you. Listen to what they have to say. Most of all, notice their skin color. Realize it if who you are talking to is different from you. Understand that they look different than you do and embrace that. Do what I now do, take a minute each day to notice the black people around you, they aren’t just another person on the street, they’re black and they’re OK too.
Some of you may be scratching your heads at this point, I understand. To the passive observer it may appear that people are just living together, and skin color doesn’t even enter into the equation for you. What I’ve noticed is that from time to time there is some racial tension in our society. There are many theories as to the origin of this. While no one will ever really know the reason, my personal suspicion (and historical references will provide some support to this) is that the tension traces back to somewhere around the time of slavery. Obviously historical records are hazy at best, but something big must have happened during that time that really united black people, and separated them from the whites. Whatever it was, it seems to have created some notable separation between the two groups. Did you know that at one point in time black people and white people had different bathrooms, seating sections, and even water fountains? On the surface this might look like a pretty sweet deal, but it turns out in this case that all that glitters isn’t gold. Why, even today there are black people who feel that denoting them as "black" is an inappropriate label. They prefer to be called African Americans. Isn’t it a little arbitrary to pick Africa you ask? No, in fact when examining some genealogy in my studies, I found that a majority of black people can trace their heritage back to the continent of Africa. It seems that this is why the term "African" Americans was picked. In addition to uncovering this fascinating history, I spent hundreds of hours giving surveys, reading journals and history books, and performing clinical research.
I talked, played games, dined, watched TV, and even discussed politics, all with black people! While this was certainly uncomfortable initially, after several months I began to forget I was talking with someone so obviously different from me. Then, after several more months, it began to feel normal, comfortable even. This I when I decided to change my thesis statement entirely from black people are acceptable, to black people are OK too. After this dramatic shift in theory, things began to really get interesting. I learned things about black people that I’d never known before. I’ll bet you weren’t aware that black people take credit for creating the musical genres of blues, gospel, jazz, and “rap”. While artists such as Bud Freeman, Hovie Lister, Dr. John, Johnny Lang, Beastie Boys, and Eminem have led many of us to believe otherwise, it turns out that in the black community it is widely known that, in fact, black people created these styles of music. Also, black people are often gifted athletically. Wait! Hear me out. After hearing this for the first time, I could barely contain my laughter. So I decided to take a road trip to squelch this preposterous notion. My first stop was the professional hockey hall of fame. The number of black people I found here? One. Checkmate! However, I didn’t stop there. I went to the hall's of fame for every major U.S. sport. I think one word sums up what I found: shocked. In fact, it seems, many black people are athletically gifted. I even turned on some current sporting events and found more evidence supporting the claim. I went back with tail between my legs, yet pleasantly enlightened at the same time. In addition to this, I found black people to be intelligent, funny, kind, and generous all supporting my general theory that black people are OK. In addition to my own research, I found countless examples of black people’s achievements in journals and books. Did you know peanut butter was invented by a black person? The delicious, versatile sandwich spread? Yes! It’s true a fellow named Carver came up with it. This is only one example of many.
So in closing, I challenge you. Pay attention to those around you. Listen to what they have to say. Most of all, notice their skin color. Realize it if who you are talking to is different from you. Understand that they look different than you do and embrace that. Do what I now do, take a minute each day to notice the black people around you, they aren’t just another person on the street, they’re black and they’re OK too.
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