Minority Report: White Is The New Black (In Southeast Anyway)

Welcome to our world

To be fair,  I did a Google search on "Southeast DC" and I did that with the total understanding (and expectation) that tomfoolery would most assuredly be afoot but this blog post, "White Girl in Southeast DC" really has me thrown for a loop. I'm honestly not sure how I feel about it, if I should feel anything at all. I am going to try and explore my feelings in this post. Bear with me while I get my thoughts and squints together. (Still haven't picked up my glasses.)

Written by Marianne Johnson, a white American University student about her experience interning and commuting to "Southeast," the post is part tongue-in-cheek, part field guide, and part confessional.

Ms. Johnson writes:

" I am the only white person on the bus. I was the only white person on the metro and from the looks of it I am the only white person for several miles. I am struck every time I leave the red line how much of a white bubble myself and many AU students live in, here in Washington, DC. Being the minority is scary. As much as I would like to say that after giving numerous presentation to the far reaches of the metropolitan area I am fearless walking miles from  the metro station to the location being the only white kid but each adventures creates a pit of fear that maybe this is the adventure something happens."

Do I think it must be uneasy for some (see, didn't say all) white folks to go from "majority rules" to "Why is everyone looking at me?" Sure. Do I think that is any different than what black folks have been experiencing in America for like forever? Nope. 

Welcome to our world. (or a least a teeny tiny fraction of it)

For as long as I can remember I have been The First, The Only, and The Representative of the entire Black race in more professional and personal settings than I can count. From eating lunch alone in my magnate school cafeteria, to being mistaken for waitstaff at a wedding, to being asked to confirm the "blackness" of someone on the phone, we all have stories. Those of "us" who have crossed the final frontier into corporate America (until recently the most racial and gender homogenous place on earth) are often recruited as unofficial ambassadors of the African American community. Don't even get me started on how many conversations/tutorials/demonstrations I had to have about my hair. I digress.

It happens. And for the most part we take it on our beautiful brown chins, pull our big girl panties up over our shapely brown thighs and keep it moving. We don't expect a ticker tape parade, a Lifetime Movie of the Week or a gold medal for our efforts. Because regardless of how "scary" or "uncomfortable" our many long walks on the "white side" may be we do it. There is no other alternative. This is it.

Photo courtesy of www.blackyouthproject.com

No one checks to see how "comfortable" I am as a minority in a sea of White faces and I don't think I expect them to. To be honest,  I would probably interpret it as some kind of pandering to my "blackness" (or gender) but I do wonder sometimes if it even crosses the mind of my in-the-majority associates. I don't mean that in a bad or judgmental way. It's just the reality of MY experience.  Just like I am more likely to visit my white friends in their majority white neighborhoods than they would visit me in my majority black one. In the four years since I moved to Ward 8 I've had only one white non East of the River friend over to my house and I did the driving. My white friends don't offer to walk me from the Metro to their home or advise me how to safely navigate their streets as the only black face for blocks (which are sometimes more dangerous than my SE streets). Maybe they would, but I smile and keep my head up anyway, not because I am a minority but because I am a civilized person. Who knew? :)

My innermost circle happens to be composed of a black straight man, a white straight woman and a white gay man.  I consider them my best friends and I love them almost as much as chocolate because they are awesome people. They support me as an individual and not a demographic (or a anthropological experiment). With my white friends am I usually the only black person at our social gatherings? Most certainty.  Does that bother me? Not as much.

Black and proud and oh so foxy!

So for Marianne Johnson and the other "white girls" out there trekking through "Southeast"  I am not going to begrudge you your feelings and I totally agree that "attitude is everything."  I understand your unease and do encourage you to take your own advice and be "fearless." Hopefully as you and others experience more situations where you are the minority you will feel more at ease with the new (and ever changing) majority. If I can offer you any other advise is to put yourself in somebody else's ballet flats -- maybe even starting at AU (notice anything in the blog author roster?). Some of us have been walking in them for a very long time.

Take it from me, us black girls have to be pretty much fearless everywhere.

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