University of Missouri

Being black in America means having to always fight for the respect that you deserve. Historically, being black in America has not been easy. And unfortunately, presently being a black in America has not been easy. It’s always a constant battle with getting that respect that you deserve. And of course, it’s way easier than it was 200 years ago or even 50 years ago. I also feel like being black in America means the future. I think that more and more blacks in America are knowing their potential and knowing what they are capable of and I just feel like over time the future is going to help us become more respected and so I feel like earning respect right now but I also feel like being black is the future. Not necessarily, we’re going to all be blacks but I do feel like us as a people, we’re just going to be even more empowered and we’re going to be less scared about anything, we’re going to hold more positions, and we’re, I hope, will be less oppressed. Unfortunately, I feel like outside of Black History Month, it’s just a lot more negative media, negative attention and I just feel like Black History Month, even though some people don’t agree with it, I do feel like it’s a celebration of being black and it reenergizes the black community every year and it’s positive media attention and it’s positive attention instead of negative attention. I’m a positive type of person, it’s my research and so I really value Black History Month for that reason.