The Most Annoying Misconceptions White People Have About Black People
Because I’m tired of reading all the B.S. in the comments.
I’ve spent my life living with certain people’s perceptions of me based on the color of my skin (Black) and the color of theirs (White).
Because I’m Black and they’re White, they assume I can naturally sing (I can’t), dance (only when I’m drunk), and kill it on the basketball court (the only dribbling I do is in my sleep) — and not just here in the United States. Years ago in London, I astonished a White shop owner when I handed him a copy of Shania Twain’s Come on Over CD at the cash register. “I never would have imagined you’d be buying that,” he said. As he stood there with his mouth hanging open in awe and the air thick with judgment, I was pretty sure I could see visions of hip-hop ghetto superstars dancing in his head.
Sigh. The things some White people are always getting completely wrong about Black people. When they see us, they see fairly interchangeable non-entities (hence Misconception No. 1: All Black people look alike), and most of them probably have no interest in knowing the truth about us. That, however, has never stopped me from telling it anyway, so join me on my latest correction course with the truth.
