Break Down 2015
Black bodies face many expectation of our blackness and what form that may take. Growing up, I was often the 'oreo' (you know, black on the outside and white on the inside) or 'the black girl who talks like a white girl'. I was well spoken, well dressed, and active on and off campus. These are all non-stereotypical depiction of a black girl, all of which was taken and related to whiteness. As if I must be white on the inside to have an ounce of intelligence. Many of us find ourselvses caught between who we have to be for job interviews and who we actually are. Black girls don’t get to have anxiety and depression. When we express these feelings we’re told we’re too emotional or some variation of the 'strong black woman' trope is brought up. Through this collaboration, Darius Thomas, and I perform the destruction these depictions of blackness can have on the black body, the categories we fall into, and trying to escape or accept them.