2/28/2018 0 Comments plain-j reacts to Black PantherCan I get a shout of praise for the black girl magic in this movie? Shout out to all my African brothers and sisters! I can smell the rice and beans from here. My initial reaction: ((SHOOK)). This is the movie I didn't know I wanted. God's timing is too perfect, people. And by that, I mean that this film came at a time when I was finally feeling confident and ready to claim my diversity and my heritage.
Since officially becoming apart of the Kingdom, Lion and the Lamb Fam, body of Christ, or whatever else you wanna call it, I've found my identity in the One who knew me first and the One who knows me best. And don't get me wrong, that's been beautiful and ground-breaking and everything in-between. But as I mentioned in "this is NOT the end.", my story does not end there. My story does not just end with me accepting my identity as a child of God. My story continues with my struggle to accept my identity as a woman of color. Discovering your true self isn't just about embracing the best aspect or the worst aspect or the most popular aspect or even the most important aspect of yourself. It's about embracing every part of who you are and who you're meant to be. The struggle with this is that it takes time. And motivation. And encouragement. (So it takes more than one thing to make it happen. What doesn't these days?) With the negative stereotypes and connotations that have been associated with women and people of color, it's been difficult for many who qualify as both, such as myself, to be proud of who they are and what they look like. It took years of motivation and encouragement from the Lord, myself, peers, and even the culture for me to see past the ash-colored glass and see myself and other minorities more clearly than I ever have before. When I say culture, I'm referring to the cultures created by the environments I was previously and am currently engaged in, which include my hometown, high school, my university, and my home. Whether I was apart of a diverse environment or a uniform environment, it helped me to see everyone for who they really are instead of placing preconceived judgement about them. Just to be clear, I am, in no way, giving all the glory to this film, the media, or the culture for helping me to embrace this part of myself. The Lord was definitely my catalyst and my guide through all it. But I also cannot discredit the influence and the impact that my cultural environments had on me. God was in charge of it. And he's still showing me new and incredible things where I am. In case you haven't realized it yet, this post is not really about Black Panther. (Sorry for the clickbait.) I mean, it's an 8/10 movie and I recommend watching it, but there's a bigger picture to this movie and what I'm sharing. Hopefully, you've noticed that, but if not, I suggest scratching more than just the surface by doing some research, listening to people's stories, and critically observing your cultural climate. After all that's over with, don't forget to remind yourself that you don't know it all. Not even close.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |