N’ ABROAD VICTORIA LARTEY
BLACK
N’ ABROAD VICTORIA LARTEY
Being the only Black person in a classroom is something I had been used to since the beginning of time, but when I was the only Black person within a 100 mile radius of myself in a foreign country— it got real.
It didn ' t take much time for me to realize this would be a long 5 months without my kind( or eco-styler gel). The first day I arrived in Melbourne, Australia, I was looked at as some kind of rare human form that had only been seen on television and in movies. It was so bad that one of the first things someone told me was that I reminded them of Oprah. Now although I would love to have her bank account & statements... me and homegirl don ' t have any type of resemblance. Days went by and still not a sistuh or brotha in sight, but instead, something a little more peculiar. I couldn ' t help but to notice how Black culture, our culture, had made it’ s way all the way down under. Can ' t even begin to count how many white girls I saw with cornrows and hoop earrings and guys with Air Force Ones and Tupac tees. I ' ll never forget the day I was walking home from class when a girl looked me up and down in disgust as she wore an " I ' m a gangsta " shirt with poorly done cornrows. I couldn ' t help but to laugh in shock of her audacity. I ' ve known all my life that being Black was lit but dang, we really do influence everything. From the way we look, carry ourselves, and how we simply exist. Suddenly all the side eyes from the natives made sense, because if I was them I ' d want to be Black too.
I remember walking into class after doing a twist out with big, moisturized hair all over the place and being the center of attention. My teacher literally stopped class to direct everyone ' s eyes to my direction in amazement as to how I just had box braids two days prior and how