Why Black Power Threatens White People

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Ok ladies, now let's get in formation. We gon' be alright. Complexion don't mean a thing. These are all rallying cries created in the last few years as a call to action for black people. A new concept has shifted in the fight for equality: black self-love. As the saying goes, you can't quite love anything else until you love yourself. The media's constant portrayal of black girl magic, black unity and black solidarity have called for a more confident black community - and apparently, even that is a problem with white people.

When Beyoncè performed "Formation" at the Super Bowl, white Twitter erupted with condemnations, calling the singer "racist" and saying she was trying "to tear down white people". The narrative of some white people asked blacks to put themselves in whites' shoes. "What if we said 'white power'? What if we made songs about being confident in our whiteness? That would be racist, now wouldn't it? So why is black power okay?"

Well, here. I'll tell you why. Sit back and get your teacups ready, everyone.

'White power' as a concept alone is inherently racist. If you want to uphold power for your race, that's completely understood - but white people already have power. Look around you. The standard of beauty is to look as European as possible, with Euro-centric media and Fair and Lovely skin cream that makes everyone a little bit whiter. Most of the movies we watch are full of white people, diversity a foreign concept to most. It's gotten so bad that even people of color have begun to tear each other down for not being "lightskin" - meaning closer to white. White supremacy runs deep in the makeup of our society, so deep that if you Google "beautiful people", all of the ensuing images will be of white people. If you Google "ugly people"... well, you can guess what comes up.

For a white person, in 2016, to say "White power", is so ridiculous that I honestly cannot fathom my life. White power already exists, and it's called white privilege. It lives in the entire world, where despite whites being the minority on the globe, they somehow run it. A privilege so cruel and exclusive that blacks have had to fight for their spots in commonplace society for decades.

Terms like Black Girl Magic may seem simplistic and surface-level in nature, but they reach so much further than one might think. A magical black girl is a strong black girl, because a magical black girl is a confident black girl, is a black girl who loves herself not despite her melanin, but because of her melanin. A confident black girl who sees herself in the mirror and thinks, "My melanin is so beautiful." And when a black girl is confident in a world that is built on her being the exact opposite - discombobulated, hating herself and wanting to be white - it's horrifying. 

Black power isn't racist. It's simply empowerment. Black people don't have power in today's society. It's just that simple. So let's give them power. Let's rally around the cases of Trayvon Martin and Mike Brown and Sandra Bland. Let's get in formation and demand our rights. Let's be alright because despite what society tries to tell us, we are strong. 

I love myself. My skin can be ashy sometimes, but my blackness never fails to shine through. My nose is big and wide, but it fits perfectly on my face. My lips are big, but they go perfectly with my teeth. My ears curl in awkwardly, but it works with my hair. And my hair - so thick, so curly before I cut it. So nice-looking. 

A confident black community is a strong black community. So white people who want to keep their supremacy and privilege forever have every right to be afraid. Because honey, I'm black and I'm proud.

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