What it means to be a Black Male: Perceptions of Society.

By: Jamirious Mooney, 10th grade student

    15 years of living, 10 of thinking I had the same chances as all of my peers, that nothing was

different about me. 5 of knowing that I am different from all of my peers, that if I want to be successful I

have to work harder than those of lighter skin. It means that I have to be stereotyped because of some

poor choices people of my color made. It means that no matter how much I try to dress, look, or dress

like a good person I still face the side-eye from people, the oh, your dad must be a pastor, or feeling

different because rap isn’t my favorite music and I don’t walk around with my pants sagging. This is what

it means to a black male in America.

     You know what I don’t get, when we fill out any type of document why does it say African

American. Why can’t it just say American? I always struggle with that. It’s like this, I go to an interracial

Church and there I feel welcome like there is nothing different about us, it’s like we are all blind to color.

But when I step outside those church walls, all I see is color. I don’t feel like I can trust Police officers

when I know all of them aren’t bad. I get my licenses in 5 months and I am TERRIFIED of being stopped

by the police. I don’t think it should be that way, I don’t think that I should always have to be looking

over my shoulder in fear of the lighter skin.  

     In my honest opinion I feel like all of our bodies should be flipped inside out. Because in reality,

my heart beats like everyone else, just like my eyes blink, and arms move, and lungs inhale and exhale

just the same. Maybe in order to get this society back on track we all need to be color blind. Because the

issue seems to be color and in all honesty, for what?