Is that Black enough for ya?
What Does it Mean to be a Black Artist?
I discussed this a little in my Sidney Poitier article, but let’s get into it on a deeper level. Black artists or any other person of color artist is held on a certain pedestal or, as I like to say, at gunpoint. There are certain ground rules we have to follow as compared to our White counterparts. No one expects a White artist to accurately portray or portray in general a person of color in their work compared to POC artists. POC have to speak for their race while also doing it in a way that everyone agrees with them. If their too “White” or they weren’t “Black enough”, or it just didn’t connect to with the people, then they are hated and put down. POC(more specifically Black) artists aren’t allowed to make mistakes or grow the same as others.
This leads me to my next point: cancelling only works on POC(most specifically Black) artists. Over my short lifespan, I noticed that anytime the overall society agreed on not liking someone, it was mainly a person of color and, more specifically, a Black person. Already, we as Black artists have to answer to our own people, but if your fandom is mostly Black and they all have stopped supporting you, then who will support you? The reason why I wrote about Sidney Poitier is that he’s a great example of this. In the beginning, he had the love of both the Black and White communities, but as the White community grew to love him more, the Black community shunned him. Over time, when Sidney was able to produce his own films that did center on Black stories, it was too late the Black community didn’t support him enough as he needed. And since his films did not connect with the White community, they stopped supporting his work. Over time, he lost that notability he held at the beginning of his career. This has happened to tons of artists through all mediums: writing, film, art, fashion, design, and more. You honestly don’t have to be an artist for it to happen. In the Black community(at least), if you don’t connect with the mass majority of Black politics/society, then you are othered. This is where the respectability politics discussion comes into play.
Respectability Politics vs. White Man’s Nigga
Shit that’s a whole other conversation but let me speedrun through it for you can understand my point. Back in the day during the ‘New Negro Movement’ respecabilty politics was used as a tool to push us in a positive look to the general society. It was supposed to uplift the bad traits that were connected with the Black community, but over time, the Black elites/high society have co-opted this and diluted the original message. Ok, stay with me because this is a hard concept to get into without being in the actual community(I might make a separate article). For example, if a Black person wears braids or street fashion that is seen as “too ghetto” than a Black person wearing a wig and high fashion. The Black elites have used it to compare and even try to assimilate into White society. Before, it was used to uplift Black people out of the thought process of feeling like cattle; now it’s used to try and compare/keep us on the same standard as White society.
There are other discussions happening around this topic: “Black Youtube”, Black republicans, African vs. Black, and more, but let’s stay on topic. This idea on how we should handle ourselves has also steeped into this old idea on the ‘White Man’s Nigga’ a concept that has been around since slavery. If the concept is that we are supposed to look, act, and speak a certain way to assimilate and make the White man comfortable/connect with us, then are we truly allowed/given the space to be our true selves(notice how I say true selves and not true Black selves). I love stories in the genres of period, fantasy, and sci-fi, I also love theater, rock, screamo, and country. A lot of these art forms/styles wouldn’t be considered “Black enough”(even though Black people were the staple for all of these). I have been ridiculed/shunned/made to feel ashamed because my interests weren’t seen as the stereotypical Black interest. The way I talk, dress, and think has also been scrutinized by my own people, all because I didn’t “fit” the box.
Having to perform even for my people
This isn’t supposed to be a boohoo moment for me, I feel like tons of Black people feel/have this experience in their life. But as someone who creates art, I noticed it getting in the way of the art I create. I also ask myself…
“Is this Black enough?”
“Will people connect with this?”
“Am I doing too much?”
All of these questions are running through my head; the pressure to create is astronomical. I don’t want to let my people down, but I also don’t want to not be true to myself. I shouldn’t have to focus solely on my Blackness in my art to be uplifted in the Black community. As a Black artist, my community should ride or die for me anyways, It’s not like I’m showcasing colorism, misogyny, homophobia, or anything. Black creatives shouldn’t have to constantly push or talk about their Blackness in their art to be seen by their community. If a Black creative creates anything, trust and believe Blackness will be somewhere in it.
That’s the beauty of being a Black Artist
Take the concept of ‘NOPE/US’ vs. ‘GET OUT’: all three movies were created by Jordan Peele, a Black man, but only one really centers the Black experience in the storyline; in the other two, the families are Black, so obviously conversation about race is brought up. A Black creative always has the conversation of Blackness in their work; that’s a given, but we as a Black community need to stop expecting that to be in the forefront or we’ll never get out of this cycle.
If I want to create a sci-fi script with Black characters(and other races/species) having to stop another species’ universe domination what do you think the story will revolve around? Colonization, Imperialization, Specism, Racism… It may not be so black and white with the message or straight in your face, but the conversation is there. Or if I want to have a rom-com with two Black characters constantly seeing each other in different parts of the city- store, work, shared uber, etc and then falling in love. Obviously the story will have Blackness in the background, but the story doesn’t have to be about their Blackness; it’s just a part of it.
And no, I’m not saying only Black people should like/connect with Black art, but something I’ve noticed is that if the Black community feels like other communities like you too much, then they lose their respect for that person. That shouldn’t be the case. Support Black creators, not their Blackness and what I mean by that is that my Black experience will be shown throughout my work; that’s a given, and we as a community should support that. But by pushing Blackness in general without no real substance, that’s why we get Black filmmakers on Tubi, Black Youtube, this concept of Blackness as a commodity, an exploitative concept. Blackness is not something you can buy or sell, its apart of my identity but it’s not my only identity, I’m a writer, filmmaker, poet, actress, animal lover, adopted, queer, woman, and the list goes on. And in every single identity I listed, my Blackness just shapes those. The way I think/feel/dress/talk/act isn’t because of my Blackness but is shaped by it. This is a discussion that will always happen, trust me, they were talking about it in the Harlem Renaissance, Civil Rights Movement, when Obama became President, BLM, and more.
