The Black Tax
“The Black Tax” was never really on my radar, until I read Born A Crime. In Born A Crime, Trevor discusses how his mother had to “pay” the black tax and as a result, made me realize my own mother continues to pay the black tax too (Noah 66). My mom, Trevor’s mom, and millions of black mothers are determined that their children will not grow up and need to pay the black tax.
People all around the world start life at zero and work their way up, but for black people in South Africa, America, and other countries that suffer from systematic racism, this is not the case. The African American community continues to be victims of the black tax. The Black Tax is essentially black families not being able to “start at zero” because they have to spend all of their time trying to fix problems of the past. Trevor’s mother, Patricia Noah, refers to it as such because “the generations who came before you have been pillaged, rather than being free to use your skills and education to move forward, you lose everything just trying to bring everyone behind you back up to zero” (Noah 66).
My first reaction when reading Trevor Noah was how he dare steal my life! Although we’re from such different cultures our lives have striking similarities. Both of our mothers wanted us to be better than they were, which helped us get beyond the black tax. As the “pioneer” of a black family (the first person to go college or make it out of the hood) the black tax has hindered the success and
“The Black Tax” was never really on my radar, until I read Born A Crime. In Born A Crime, Trevor discusses how his mother had to “pay” the black tax and as a result, made me realize my own mother continues to pay the black tax too (Noah 66). My mom, Trevor’s mom, and millions of black mothers are determined that their children will not grow up and need to pay the black tax.
People all around the world start life at zero and work their way up, but for black people in South Africa, America, and other countries that suffer from systematic racism, this is not the case. The African American community continues to be victims of the black tax. The Black Tax is essentially black families not being able to “start at zero” because they have to spend all of their time trying to fix problems of the past. Trevor’s mother, Patricia Noah, refers to it as such because “the generations who came before you have been pillaged, rather than being free to use your skills and education to move forward, you lose everything just trying to bring everyone behind you back up to zero” (Noah 66).
My first reaction when reading Trevor Noah was how he dare steal my life! Although we’re from such different cultures our lives have striking similarities. Both of our mothers wanted us to be better than they were, which helped us get beyond the black tax. As the “pioneer” of a black family (the first person to go college or make it out of the hood) the black tax has hindered the success and