Change the Narrative

CHANGE THE NARRATIVE
Stop Using the N-Word

marlene_blogWelcome to Black Shadow Watch! I’m Dr. Marlene, your host. Thank you for joining in.

Black Shadow Watch is dedicated to ending the myth of black inferiority (and the corresponding myth of white superiority) that still lives on in the unconscious, and some times conscious, minds of too many African Americans. The myth of black inferiority was planted in slavery and has been watered ever since by racism. Yes, the election of President Barack Obama, a black man, did achieve what many thought to be the impossible. But it did not end racism or the myth of black inferiority. You have but to listen to negative comments about the First Family to know that racism persists. Black Shadow Watch is an individual and collective effort to talk openly and honestly about a crippling condition—the myth of black inferiority—that affects the health, safety and well being of our families and communities but frequently goes unnamed. Just as white privilege depends on whites being oblivious to it, black inferiority depends on blacks being unaware. Together we can expose the myth of black inferiority (and white superiority) as probably the biggest lie of slavery. Together we can and will make a difference. Our children’s future rests on it.
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You need to know what you’ve lost before you can repair it. My book, “Facing the Black Shadow,” is about our losses. I wrote it with deep hope and conviction. Talking real about slavery and the psychological residuals of slavery we can find a solution—a way to end the myth of black inferiority. Olivia Pope on the very popular television series, Scandal, is the go to person. Known as the “fixer” she starts with, “Let’s change the narrative.” Right now, you can begin by declaring, “I will not use the N-word.” The N-word is a carryover from slavery that, regardless of the speaker, connotes black inferiority. Be intentional—change the narrative. Don’t just talk the talk, walk the talk. Come together with friends to discuss the N-word (using the N-word is a major issue). Agree to not use it. Change the narrative one stone at a time.

I want to hear all of your stories—good, bad or indifferent. Share your experiences. I want this blog to be a living, breathing place of truthful conversation. Send me your stories or examples of the black shadow—people, places or situations where you or someone else experienced/judged being black as inferior. For example, a white colleague told me that he preferred to work with another black woman over me because she smiled and I didn’t. My black shadow could have told me, “You’re an inferior black woman because your white male colleague doesn’t want to work with you. You’re an angry black woman and defective.” Instead I talked back to my black shadow saying, “My white colleague wants me to be responsible for making him comfortable—Mammy—and I don’t accept the role he wants to assign. Nor will I allow him to pit me, one black woman, against another.” My smiling black colleague was okay and so was I. Some might say he was trying to help me in the workplace, informing me of my shortcoming. But I’ve worked to understand the subtleties of white privilege and black inferiority and trust my own gut to guide me.

Take the personal challenge of ending the myth of black inferiority. Ghandi said, “We but mirror the world.” So “Be the change you want to see in the world.

3 thoughts on “Change the Narrative

  1. What a powerful account of the impact of slavery that resides in the human souls and minds of African Americans some 400 years post institutionalized oppression. If we are ever going to take our equal and unfettered place in the country we helped to build, we will need to invest in our own cultural capital by coming to terms with the black shadow. I see “Facing the Black Shadow” as a blue-print for understanding and altering the life course of many African Americans.

    Moreover, it demands a heightened sense of self-awareness, which when applied, the black shadow becomes quite recognizable and hopefully transferable.

    • Dr. Watson,
      Wow! I just listened to you on Dr. Cooper’s show. I bought your. e-book, thank you. I am a teacher and see in my brown colleagues how their shadow is manifested in the way some of them hate me in my brown skin. How can I teach them? I thought perhaps to pass out your definition of the black shadow! How would you proceed? I hope to find the answer within your pages.

      • Thanks Lynetta for listening and buying the book. Passing out the definition of the black shadow from the book and inviting your colleagues to share their thoughts about it might be both insightful and transformative. I wish you well.

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