The harsh truth is that 'respectability' is the exorbitant tax we African Americans are forced to pay daily as we try to live out our versions of the American Dream.
Interpretation
Respectability is a burden imposed on African Americans in their pursuit of the American Dream.
This quote highlights the societal expectation for African Americans to conform to a certain standard of respectability in order to gain acceptance and success in pursuing the American Dream. It suggests that this pressure acts as a heavy tax, complicating their journey and often demanding more effort and sacrifice than is asked of others.
In practice
In a discussion on systemic racism, this quote can illustrate the challenges faced by African Americans.
Isn't it sad that really the only times I feel seen as an American are when I'm abroad? I'm not saying racism doesn't exist outside of the United States. What I am saying is that the rest of the world can see that I'm American. Why is it so hard for so many White Americans?
Caught in a racial uproar, people make all sorts of promises to make amends. Whatever they do tends to be heavy on symbolism and light on lasting change.
When you're Black in the United States, you grudgingly grow accustomed to having people deny that your existence is integral to everything that makes this country what it is.
There are still too many instances of police neither protecting nor serving LGBTQ and other marginalized communities. But the response shouldn't be to ban LGBTQ police from a parade.
Scapegoating is as American as apple pie. And because there's almost always a racial or ethnic dynamic to it in our country, scapegoating is the evil cousin of white supremacy.
When you're Black in America, you spend a lot of time counting firsts. The higher the first, the more we marvel (and shake our heads at how long it took to happen.) The higher the first, the more the person who achieved it comes to represent how we want the nation to see us.
Everything that depends on the action of nature is by nature as good as it can be.
Heaven does without doing through its purity, Earth does without doing through its calmness.
Chinese martial artists consider themselves to be gardeners, and it's an honor for them to take care of this garden, to better it and hand it over to the generations that follow. I think that's a very important message in a time when personal achievement seems to be the only criteria of success.
The news isn't there to tell you what happened. It's there to tell you what it wants you to hear or what it thinks you want to hear.
Know that you are a miracle and that you have a unique place in the cosmic plan. You are here to be the presence of love. You are here to be the presence of joy. You are here to be the presence of peace.
If the world was perfect, it wouldn't be.
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