Every Brown Person

Chris Rock, the comedian, has a section in one of his acts that thrills me every time I see it. He’s talking about the incredible benefits that come simply from being white and how no white person in the world would ever, in a million years, not for any reason, at any time, choose to be black. He says (and I’m paraphrasing), “There isn’t one white person in America who would change places with me—and I’m rich.”

Every brown person knows this:

You’re a traitor to your own race if you act too white. You’re only accepted by whites (read: those in power) f you act white or if you act brown and contrite, brown and sorry for being brown. (Otherwise you’re a threat to whites.) If you’re brown and speak with an accent around whites, it’s quaint and you’re automatically put below them.

Every brown person knows this:

To survive, you have to be fluent in white-speak. To survive, you have to understand the culture of those in power, white culture. To survive, you have to understand that they don’t have to know and they don’t have to care about your culture. Whites don’t have to know brown culture—or any other culture but white—to survive. White people get angry or upset or threatened if it is suggested that they should learn about other non-white cultures when they don’t want to. White people get upset if they think that a non-white culture might become dominant in America.

Every brown person knows this:

You have less value simply because you’re brown. You will struggle all your life with that, with that thing that white people don’t experience.

Every brown person has heard this bullshit from a white person:

I was in Atlanta/NewYork/Africa/some place where there are more brown or black people than white—and they were prejudiced against me. Now I know exactly what racism is like!

I have black/brown friends. I like black/brown people!

My wife/husband/girl- or boy-friend/step-whatever is black/brown, so I’m know what I’m talking about when I say that black/brown people are ____________.






Charge made by whites against “minorities”: You aren’t authentic enough.

Wapanese