I'm Rooting for Everyone Black Because You're Rooting for Everyone White

Black Panther debuted its second trailer a few days ago and I am beyond ready for February 16th. I have, in fact, found my will to go on and make it through the rest of 2017. Let's just say it's been an eventful year. Ryan Coogler and Michael B. Jordan, my future baby daddy, have already made magic together with Fruitvale Station and Creed. Add Angela Bassett, Lupita Nyong'o, and Chadwick Bosman, who's played James Brown, Jackie Robinson, and soon Mr. Thurgood Marshall and we've literally hit the trifecta. When I finally see Black Panther white people will not be allowed to speak to me for the rest of the month. Black History Month 2k18 is about to be so lit I don't see how I'll be able to function as a normal human being.

Though I was once very critical of the month because it's 28 days black history is America's history, when Beyonce´ announced to the world this year she was having twins on the very first day of the month I changed my tune. Still, I celebrate black people and our culture year long so it's whatever. I'm over this narrative where I have to dumb my blackness down so that those who lack skin pigment feel comfortable around me. I mean my middle name, Melaina, is literally derived from the word melanin. I was technically named after a dead aunt but I don't believe in coincidences. I wake up every morning and start off my day with a fresh cup of white tears. I sing negro spirituals and at the top of my lungs when I take the metro to work. I crip walk through every Target I enter all while smelling like cocoa butter and cinnamon.

Some critics have gone on record saying that the latest Marvel Universe installation is "too black and too militant." The film's poster is said to have concerning similarities to a picture of Huey P. Newton, the co-founder of The Panther Party. Why that is a problem is beyond me, but I guess as history will prove anytime black people show a little pride in themselves it's a problem. There are documents that literally prove that the FBI purposely labeled the party as a terrorist group to discredit their philanthropic efforts meanwhile the KKK still operates rather successfully in the US, but what the hell do I know (Google it). Y'all probably have been told the whitewashed version where The Panther Party only existed to intimidate white people with chaos and violence.

If you're upset about an all black cast you can stay mad. No one ever questions all white casts of the hundreds of movies that are put out every year in Hollywood, but the one about a fictional AFRICAN country bothers you? Cool. Let's not forget #oscarssowhite happened literally about a year ago and the annoying Moonlight vs La La Land snafu because even when we're at our best we still are expected to share the spotlight with our white counterparts. Issa Rae even got some Emmy's backlash this year for saying she was rooting for everyone black. Take several seats because I know for a fact that you do it too even if it's subconscious.

We can relate and familiarize ourselves with stories told and cast by people we look like. It's human nature. You watch Family Feud and I'll tell you who you're rooting for based on your how much of yourself you can see in the dark. Black people still have their first wins in certain categories so you don't get to have an opinion on how we choose to celebrate it. You don't get to have an opinion when Hollywood is so whitewashed they don't hire Asian actors to play Asian roles. I'm talking to you Emma Stone. You don't get to have an opinion when I can only think of about 5-6 mainstream shows (not on BET or OWN) that have an all black or black majority cast.

On top of everything else half of the time when I do see characters of color on mainstream television they're playing into these tired ass stereotypes. I'm talking to you Kerry Washington. Even though Moonlight and 12 Years a Slave were both beautiful movies that won they focused on the plight of black people. Let me celebrate and root for the new wave of voices from shows like Blackish, Empire, and Insecure. These shows go out of their way and above and beyond to show a different perspective. To tell a narrative that I can relate to. These shows, although rare, show the world that we are more than what you think of us. Now I get a whole movie where I don't have to see a black person get raped by their master or whipped? I'm here for it and you should be too.