Black people shouldn’t have to be heroes to be treated like human

The dangers and falsities of ‘black excellence’ as a means of navigating Western society ‘safely’ and ‘successfully’ as a black person

#JusticeforGeorgeFloyd

#JusticeforBreonnaTaylor

#JusticeforRayshardBrooks

The George Floyd murder has sparked an unprecedented civil rights movement which is taking the world by storm. Unsurprisingly, even with the video-documented murder of an innocent black man that we all witnessed for an excruciating 15 minutes, some individuals are committed to making a villain out of a victim. There is a recurring theme of creating a mirage of martyrdom out of George Floyd and others like him, just to say in the next breath that these individuals were never as ‘innocent’ as they appeared once contentious autopsy reports are filed and the gaslighting begins. In villainizing George Floyd, these groups seek to justify an inhumane act of police brutality. This mentality tells black people that they are only deserving of basic human courtesy and treatment when they possess flawless records and drug-free histories. But black people shouldn’t have to be heroes to be treated like humans.

This was yet another reminder of the life-time marathon Black people are often subject to, working overtime to be ‘excellent’ and above reproach in all regards to receive the same respect that their white counterparts receive just for existing.

Newsreels that published the autopsy report by the Hennepin County medical examiner initially reported that there was no physical evidence of a ‘traumatic asphyxiation’ that concretely led to George Floyd’s death. What was the cause of death if it wasn’t at the knee of a police officer for 8 minutes? According to the County’s report, a combination of factors including preexisting cardiovascular conditions and further ‘intoxicants’ accompanied by “law enforcement subdual, restraint and neck compression”. Many who were eager to demonise the Black Lives Matter movement rejoiced at this opportunity to antagonise Floyd as an indisposed drug-addict as a means of appeasing their prejudice. However, the independent autopsy report conducted by Floyd’s family offered a varying conclusion that Floyd died as a direct result of mechanical asphyxiation, not only from the one officer’s knee on Floyd’s neck but the surrounding officers who held him down. Ultimately, by June 1st both reports concluded that George Floyd’s death was a homicide; had the officer not knelt on his neck, George Floyd would be alive today. Yet, the emergence of anti-George Floyd sentiments highlights a more critical issue than the manipulation of medical language to acquit cases of police brutality. This serves as yet another reminder of the life-time burden black people are subject to, working overtime to be perceived as ‘excellent’ and above reproach to earn the same respect that their white counterparts receive just for existing.

Most black people will be acquainted with the notion of having to work twice as hard to be seen as equal to their white counterparts, whether in the workplace, lecture hall, or courtroom. It is often instilled in black children that they must be stellar to be recognised and humanised. This ‘excellence’ is typically associated with being educated at the most prestigious universities, opting for life in middle class and often white neighbourhoods, and general assimilation to white society. These habits of ‘excellence’ are often paralleled by the rejection of identifiable markers of mainstream black culture such as rap and RnB music or even the use of AAVE/BBVE (African American/Black British Vernacular English). Pursuing higher education, aiming for financial stability, and having distinct tastes in music and style are not disagreeable aspirations. But when this is the measure used to gauge the worthiness or humanity of an individual, these objectives become highly polemical.

…black people are not afforded the most basic of behavioural decencies simply because they are black.

Back-handed comments such as ‘you’re not like other black people’ stimulate the idea that black people have to efface themselves from ‘conventional’ notions of blackness to be accepted in Western society. What is it about ‘regular’ black people that is so uncomfortable that it necessitates such distancing? Perhaps it is their ‘loudness’, vibrancy, authenticity, and outspokenness. But these attributes are applauded and even humoured when played out in white society. White men are commended for being vigorously ambitious, outspoken, and confident. In the UK, ‘lad culture’ is a defining aspect of Britishness and while not always celebrated, it is accepted as being ‘just the way they are’ in an almost exonerating manner. White men are hardly dehumanised for these behaviours and they become the lawmakers, politicians, and business moguls who govern the country. The problem must, therefore, lie in the pigmentation — black people are not afforded the most basic of behavioural decencies simply because they are black.

…to be of worthy of respect in Western society, black people must not only be ‘successful’ in extraordinary ways but they must subject themselves to an erasure of any markers of blackness…

Inadvertently, statements and biases like these which aim to malign perceptions of blackness by deeming these natural behaviours as unacceptable and ultimately undeserving of respect, fuel the notion that being black in its simplicity is substandard. This week alone, the most ‘excellent’ of black individuals from the Harvard Law Class of 2021, were labelled thugs for sharing a graduating class picture. The conversation thus veers in a different direction as it becomes apparent that to be worthy of respect in white society, black people must not only be ‘successful’ in extraordinary ways but they must subject themselves to an erasure of any markers of blackness or connection with the black community. For black people, this is a lose-lose situation as they are taught to injuriously strive for perfection — which is largely associated with proximity to whiteness — to be respected, and anything less than this image of ‘black excellence’ subjects them to inhumane treatment. Whether they are soon-to-be law school graduates with impressive career prospects or high school dropouts living paycheck to paycheck, black people are still subject to centuries-old racist ideologies that see black life as less than.

A few years ago, I came across a video of a series of street interviews in Manhattan about what was understood by the term ‘white privilege’. One young woman commented that she did not believe we should adopt the term white privilege in regards to issues of racial biases. Rather, she called this system of inequalities ‘black disadvantage,’ on the basis that white people are afforded basic human courtesy, decency, and grace just for being white in the West. It is important to note that ‘white privilege’ and ‘black disadvantage’ are not mutually exclusive complexes and we should be wary of absolving the former as a key player in racial inequality. Yet, it is undeniable that in a society dominated by racial inequality, black people are often forced to contort themselves to picture-perfection to attain a semblance of equal treatment. In light of the recent reactions to the death of George Floyd and the tragic shootings of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor and Rayshard Brooks, it must be said once and for all that black people shouldn’t have to prove their worth to be treated as equal citizens. Black people should be allowed to exist and receive human treatment in this simple state of being, no superhero cape attached.