I went to Morehouse College for undergrad. When I found out I got in (on the spot admittance and scholarship with the visiting recruiter) I had deeply bought into the brand of Morehouse. The clean, elite, intelligent, and respectable Black Man. It was my goal to join the 5%. Kream of the crop. Social mobility here I come!
For a moment, maybe during my Freshman and Sophomore year, I had grown tired and weary of what I considered was excessive focus on the tragic history and identity of being Black/Brown in America. Obsession with the civil rights era and struggle narratives were choking me out. This couldn't have been all that Blackness was, a nostalgia for MLKJ and SNCC. It wasn’t that I was anti Black and wanted Black people to move on. I wanted my experiences to be more focused on solutions and building the future than trying to revive the spirit of old.
But also, just move tf on!
I was focused on social mobility and getting MY seat at the table. Talking too much about Blackness didn’t seem like a smart plan for getting there.
I am, for now, proud to be a Morehouse Man. Or better stated, I appreciate the person I've become as a result of Morehouse College.