Real Life Real Faith Men of Faith September Issue | Page 14

This Skin of MinE
I can recall one moment as a child being at the Iredell County fair with my father. During
that moment a white man in one of the game booths yelled out to my father as we were walking
by, “Hey Nigger!” This was an attempt to get my father’s attention to come play the game to win
a prize. That was the first and only time that I ever saw my father give someone the middle
finger. Now I heard my father curse, but never had I seen him give anyone the universal gesture.
That moment in time stuck with me. Between that time in my life up until this very day, I have
learned a lot about this skin of mine. I am an African American male and I have learned that
based on the fact that I was born with the skin I’m in that I will have to deal with negative
stigmas, stereotypes, and disgust pointed in my direction…not because of my character which
deals with abyssal traits that really define me as a person, but rather my skin color which deals
with the superficial and has nothing to do with the type of person I am. I have learned that the
fact that I bleed the same bodily fluid that everyone walking this Earth bleeds doesn’t mean that I
will be viewed as an equal part of society. I understand that I may have to fight twice as hard as
my Caucasian counterpart at times to have the same success despite having the same
qualifications to deserve having that success. I thank God for my parents, however, for instilling
in me the determination and drive to get anything in life I want, despite the doors that may shut
in my face or the windows of opportunities that may close because of the fact that my skin is a
darker shade. It may be hard and I may be faced with roadblocks, but I will not allow that to hold
me back. This skin I’m in will not be the reason I fail.
In 2008, history was made in the United States when a witty Senator from Illinois became
th
the 44 president. An African-American president was supposed to indicate that change that our
country needed, but instead it revealed what the world already knew…how racially divided our
country continues to be despite the fact that this is the so-called land of the free and equal
opportunities. On paper that is a true fact, but in actuality…not so much the case. These United
States of America! One man, Barrack Obama, has managed to open up old wounds, old feelings
across the country making our country look more like it should have the title of The Divided
States of America. Racial tension is just as high as they were in the 1960’s and I thank God that
we have enough rights today that on paper appear to protect us from the lynchings, heartless
killings, and burning of homes, churches, schools, and establishments that we faced before and
during Civil Rights times. Notice I say “appear”. Some of the issues that we, we being AfricanAmericans, continue to be faced with in the “land of the free” and “equal opportunities” have
turned more mental. We are faced with mental lynchings in the form of unjust treatment in the
legal system, police brutality, and glass ceilings in the workforce. The prisons and the lack of
resources in our communities that lead to the miseducation of our children puts many AfricanAmericans in that dreaded category of modern day slavery.
African-Americans as a race are hit with many negative stereotypes…lazy people, angry
people, criminal minded people, drug dealers, dangerous/violent people, baby mamas/baby
daddies, uneducated people. The men are only good at rapping and/or playing sports. The