Letters to the Editor
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One black kid, indeed.
I'm writing a novel...but then, who isn't? Even Heather Havrilesky, who can't write, has someone ghosting a novel for her. Anyway, my novel takes place in a little Missouri town where the protagonist's friend is the one black girl in a high school.
She isn't put upon particularly, but she is disconnected from what a lot of people consider "the African-American experience." Aside from her dad, a strict college professor, she has no connection to what most of us see as the world of black people. She doesn't line-dance or go around tipping cows, but she doesn't have any peers of her race and age. And about the closest she gets to being "street" is watching The Parkers or One On One on those few occasions when she can sneak away and watch TV at someone else's house.
So yes, Mr. Knight. There are a lot of those "one black kids." God bless 'em. They mean that nobody has to be a cliche. Or maybe that not everybody has the convenience of being a cliche. Or something.
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You Be The Judge...
Hi,
Not including the, um, male item =), I'm female, but I can totally relate. And, it was both blacks and whites who felt/feel that you're "not black enough".
However, this was/is NOT all bad.
By moving around so much (Dad was busy accumulating university degrees), and not living in the largest cities; we had to grow in more and different ways or we wouldn't have any friends.
Or dates either.
Did this help us or hurt us when we finally moved to the larger cities? My friends and dates are still less black than I thought they'd eventually be.
You be the judge.
Thanks for the amusing 'toon =).
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Actually, there's also this one Mexican kid ...
... who got straight A's in school, who didn't overpluck her eyebrows or outline her lips with a black Sharpie (at least, that's what it looked like to this one Mexican kid), get jumped into a gang, or ride along on drive-bys. There's this one Mexican kid who was raised by devout, strict Christians who insisted she come home on time, study hard and go to college. There's this one Mexican kid who made it to college without getting pregnant or strung out, and found out when she got there that she liked it so much that she went on to grad school. There's this one Mexican kid who became a happy and successful professional ...
... and learned to control her anger, despair and impatience when Anglos would ask her, "Why do Mexicans have all those babies and go on welfare? And what's with the lipliner?"
Thanks, Keef, from this one Mexican kid. I suspect you'll be hearing from this one Asian kid, too, sooner or later.
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That one biracial kid
Thanks, Keith.
Sincerely,
Mom of one biracial kid (who is also latina, so things really get interesting)
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That One Black Kid...
...the skinny girl with her nose in a book, who liked math and loved Star Trek and loved learning how to use the sewing machine in home-ec, who was laughed at and teased and didn't understand why, who went to college on loans and become a frakkin' rocket scientist. So there. Thanks, Keef.
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The one black kid
the comic is all about white people's reactions. black people also have their reactions to the one black kid, which is way harsher that a white person's reaction. It can't be nice to be told you are not really black or you are a traitor to your people or an uncle tom, or something like that, just because you like classical music or don't believe that bush brought down the towers, etc.
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We are legion
Thanks from another one of those kids. Interesting how so many of those little black geeks that didn't fit in anywhere turned out to be pretty accomplished adults. Too bad you're not a licensed therapist Keef, or I'd ask your availability for some sessions with Debra Dickerson.
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One More Once
Panels three and six particularly resonated with me. Thanks, Keef.
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The One
This strip really resonates for me. Keef got it exactly right; there really is no way to say this and not sound like I'm using him to prove I'm not racist, but my best friend was that one black guy. In Albuquerque, where the Hispanic population is on a par with what we call "Anglos" around here, the one black guy actually sticks out even more. He was always the most popular, most outgoing, friendliest guy in school, but he always had to endure the questions about hip-hop ("Who's more legit, Public Enemy or NWA?", asked by white kids in pink Polo shirts and Dockers), and the hair-touching, and the "compliments" that he "just didn't act black". At my wedding, he got more attention from my Mexican family than the bride did. His two daughters who take after their Hispanic mom fit in just fine at school, but his youngest, who resembles dad in features and complexion, is now turning out to be the most popular, most outgoing, friendliest girl in school, and it makes me realize, that's the way she's got to act in order to handle being "that one black girl."
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This One...
really appreciates that comic strip. Thanks, Keef.
I grew up in a mostly black city, went to a mostly black high school and still ended up being the only black kid in honors classes (but only because low-level institutionalized racism is no match for my mom).
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Awesome!
I'm a white kid and I loved this comic. So funny, and a good critique of white people (more white people need to learn to laugh at themselves). Also, as the One Gay Girl, there are definitely some parallels. (I was the One Gay Girl, and I was NOT checking out my nasty classmates in the locker room, for example).
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this one white kid..
...enjoyed that. when i was a kid in the 70s, riding home on a school bus in the middle of nowhere, i rode with a lot of black kids who lived nearby. and you know what? they were always touching my hair. i just thought it was funny, since white people always want to touch black people's hair. what was funnier was when i was in my thirties and one of my black friends kept sneaking touches of my hair. go figure.