Things that DO NOT define your Blackness: A Thread

Since some people wanna act goofy in our community- a richly diverse community, with all kinds of backgrounds and subcultures, and mixes- I want to make a few things clear FOR EVERYONE.
Please read and learn-->

How You Look:
There is no "correct" or "100%" look to define a Black person. We stem from the most feature diverse continent in the world, of COURSE we do not all look the same!

And that's just on the continent. In the U.S., or wherever you are, the pools tend to diversify further. But the Black is not erased. The Black is not deligitimized due to less pigmentation, or a certain hair texture, or eye color.

Blackness is not erased because of a mix. It is ADDED to!
And Blackness is certainly not questionable based on pigment presentation. Anomalies and rarities exist among our people, too! And it only diversifies us further

If you're of the mindset that being mixed makes you less Black, I have some news for you: Every African American in the U.S. that can trace back to a plantation is mixed. Every single one. Because, unfortunately, someone was r*ped, bore those children. Those children had children

Sometimes they had children with Black people, others with white. And THOSE children had children, and the mixing continued. This didn't happen to all of them at the same time, but it happened enough that every long-rooted Black family has at least some European in them.

Now, that said, YOU ARE STILL BLACK!! WE ARE ALL STILL BLACK!!
What's in the mix and how we look DOES NOT CHANGE THAT!!
Man, I can get into a whole dissertation on the Black mix, and how our enslaved ancestors were pulled from different regions and their genes BUT diff thread.

(I'll be continuing this throughout the day.)

Up next on Things That DO NOT define Blackness: What you sound like

Show of hands for anyone who was hit with the "You sound white" comment from other Black people?
Or "Wow you sound so. Clear! Chill! Articulate!" from non-Black people. I wanna see something

While that poll is going, let me get into this.
How you sound- your diction, your vernacular, the octave or volume of your voice, your accent- does NOT have ANY BEARING on your Blackness.

For the sake of time, imma keep my examples in the U.S., but feel free to chime in from any international perspectives!

Black people populate every single part of this country in various degrees of saturation. And just as everyone from every state sounds different, so do we!

The accent challenge on TikTok can show you that! Someone from Atlanta does not sound like someone from Detroit. Someone frome Austin does not sound like someone from New Orleans. We can even go city to city! Watts to Venice Beach, Bronx to Manhattan. I can go on!

And thats just accent. Let's get into the AAVE discussion!
The use. Of Black slang. Of Black specific verbacular. Or the lack thereof. Does not affect your ranking as a "legitimate Black person". No Black person should feel pressured to code switch WITH THEIR OWN PEOPLE!

We get enough of that when entering spaces that are primarily non-Black! Cut it out!
And speaking of, non-Black people. Stop using AAVE to sound "cool" or "urban". It's unnecessary and very off-putting, especially if you're not even from the region.
But, I digress.

Black people, I have a request of you. If someone comes up to you speaking softly or calmly, or without much of an accent from any densely urban region, or without a lot of slang or vernacular you recognize, DO NOT SAY THEY SOUND WHITE
It is deeply hurtful, and begs the question:

"What does Black sound like?"
Good luck answering that, because you have summarily dismissed proper sentence structure, high vocabulary, enunciation, and lack of slang as being remotely applicable to Black speech with your dumbass remark.
Which, as we all know, IS NOT TRUE!

Depending on your profession, your area, or your upbringing, your speech patterns will expand and change!
"Sounding white" should NOT BE synonymous with sounding educated.
And sounding educated is CERTAINLY NOT the opposite of "sounding Black".

On the flip side, just because you use more AAVE does not mean that you're ignorant or a stereotype of Blackness.
Your education, your cultural awareness, your particular regional vernacular, does NOT determine your Black worth. Please know and embrace this.

Up next on What DOES NOT Define Your Blackness: Pop Culture Saturation; Music and Style

Ngl, this subject alone might need its own separate thread.
The music you like, the clothes you wear, the celebrities you know. None of these things should compromise your relationship with your Blackness. Or be seen as a reason for others to QUESTION your Blackness!

(I will get more into it after work, y'all. Stay tuned!)