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Overview

Most people want to help the world, but they don’t know how. It’s difficult to navigate through all of the opinions about what needs to be done in order to help marginalized communities.

Black women in the United States have been marginalized for a long time. The author wants to help them, but first he has to understand why they’re marginalised and how that happened.

Morgan Jerkins has written a book about black women in America. She grew up as one and knows the struggles they face. In her book, she identifies their current problems and offers solutions to improve their position in society.

No matter what your gender is or how you identify, everyone can help create a society that’s fair and just for all people.

In this passage, you’ll learn about the crabs-in-a-barrel theory and why acknowledging skin color is important. You’ll also learn that it’s not a good idea to touch a black woman’s hair because of cultural differences.

Big Idea #1: Morgan Jerkins is a black woman and a human.

When Jerkins was a child, she wanted to be white. This is common among black children who want to succeed in a white-dominated world. They understand that being black is threatening and that they should tone it down if they want success.

So, during her teenage years Jerkins didn’t wear her hair in its natural state and wore jewelry and clothes that were status symbols of whiteness. She also sought to avoid black classmates who shunned white culture.

Jerkins found out that her racial background wasn’t really a factor in most situations. However, she was able to figure out when it was appropriate for her to use it and when not to. She learned that white culture is more powerful than black culture because many people don’t see the former as an option.

Surprisingly, some white people don’t see black women as human.

Once, a white man asked Jerkins why she didn’t just call herself human instead of black. She replied that she is both and the man said that she doesn’t act like a black woman. Why?

Because Jerkins was well-educated and had a job in publishing, she didn’t fit the man’s perception of what an African American woman should be like. Moreover, Jerkins sometimes changes her behavior to conform more to white culture; she minimizes gestures, avoids sucking her teeth and doesn’t talk as loudly.

Black people are often portrayed as uneducated and uncivilized. This stereotype has been around for a long time, but it’s still prevalent today. However, the media also portrays black women in a different way – as sassy and angry all the time. If they’re not presenting themselves this way, then they’re seen as being too white or “not black enough” to be taken seriously by society. Therefore, if you don’t fit into this category of “sassy black woman”, you can’t have any humanity at all because that would mean that you’re just like white people, which is worse than being an animal or something else that isn’t human at all.”

It’s still considered a compliment to acknowledge someone as if she or he were white.

Big Idea #2: “Color-blindness” is a myth that doesn’t help people of color.

Many white people believe that not seeing skin color is a progressive stance. It isn’t. Being blind to black history and culture is the same as being racist, because they don’t experience life in the same way as black people do. They may think identifying someone by their race doesn’t make them racist, but it does if they’re ignorant of experiences different from theirs.

However, racism exists when someone is judged negatively because of the color of their skin. Ignoring a person’s blackness is problematic because it leads to ignoring the societal challenges they face and dismisses their rich cultural history that contributes to who they are. The “universal” standard held by people who claim to be color-blind actually represents a white perspective, which is inaccurate since it excludes everyone else.