You’re a sell-out!” Angie Grier is the main character of my short story, Choose Life. She hears these words coming from the mouth of her beloved older sister. Angie, her husband and their two children live an idyllic life in an upper-middle class neighborhood in Brockton. She is accused of being a sell-out to the Black culture by choosing to stay away from her parents and siblings. This sets the stage for the rest of the story, but what I want to touch on is the significance of the oft-used phrase as it pertains to our society today.
In the minds of those who have accused their fellow African Americans of such, they are meant to convey the distaste the speaker feels for someone whom they believe has turned their back on the Black culture by not living up to a complicated standard of Blackness. Much pain has been inflicted because of racism. I’m not denying or devaluing this. It’s real. But we must give everyone the freedom to live their own lives before God without being judged as not “Black enough”.
A healthy racial identity, no matter what race we are, is an essential part of self-acceptance and a positive self-image. Loving who we are includes loving others as they are. Give everyone the same unconditional acceptance that you are looking for. If you’ve been wounded by racism, don’t hesitate to seek healing today so that hatred will not be perpetuated through violent acts of retaliation or hurtful name-calling.
If you need assistance, call on me. My desire is to see you whole and walking in your purpose and destiny.
