What does it mean to be Black?
Do I need to have my hat tilted to the side, pants sagged, grills shining in the sun, with the smell of smoke and rum diffusing off my body? Or must I be that uneducated individual derived from Africa, and only Africa, in gangs, can't be trusted or else you can , "Say hello to my little friend?"
I get good grades in my Honors classes and Advance Placement class and I am not even worthy enough to be black. "I swear you're white !" I hear. Why? Because I educated myself? Because I can read off a 500 page novel in a day? Or is it because I talk proper? That makes me white all of a sudden? Martin Luther King didn't waste his time and energy so that Black individuals could finally par to the status of White individuals, nor did he mean for Black or White individuals to be greater but instead to be equal.
Equality.
Something we all yearn for.
How much thanks will be enough to thank every living and dead soul that fought for civil rights so that I-an African-American-can make a future for myself?
I am proud to be African-American. I am proud to fight for what it is right and to let my voice be heard in the meanwhile. I am proud to get good grades and to read like no body's business, educating myself for a great career. I am proud that I have the freedom to do far greater things with my future than I ever thought possible and to be a voice heard in society.