Dear Mama: You Were Wrong To Tell Me I Had To Be Twice As Good As White Folk.

“And all my childhood memories
Are full of all the sweet things you did for me” — Dear Mama by 2Pac

Dear Mama,

You and Dad raised Rodney and I to believe we had to be two times better than white people just to get the same as them. I understand why you said this and I know it came from a place of love, but Mama that set’s me up to believe that it is ok for me to get half-as-much as I am worth. That is why I won’t be teaching that to Pepper. If the white folk can raise their sons and daughters to be mediocre and expect the moon, then I can raise Pepper the same way.

I understand that this world is not fair. I know what you and Dad did was to protect us and forge us into the men that we needed to be, to not just survive in this world but to thrive. Yet, if we are being honest the idea that we have to work twice as hard as a white co-worker just to get the same, if we are lucky, is a form of learned helplessness. Perhaps, this was your way of conditioning Rod and I for a world that routinely undervalues the labor of black men. Maybe it was your way of preparing us for a world that refuses to admit the existence of black brilliance. May I suggest this was your way of readying us for a world that would deny us promotions, not because of the quality of our work, but because of the moral failings of our employers.