Reflective Essay: My Life As A Black Girl

Before I ordered the memoir Buck, I read a synopsis online and was hooked almost instantly. But as hard as it is to admit, the first couple chapters had me thinking “yo maybe this isn’t the type of book for me”, especially with all the unfamiliar Philly street slang and the rawness of his narrative. And although I did find it amusing at times, I assumed I wasn’t going to relate much. At this point I was ready to give up and move onto my other reading assignments but I still pressured myself to go on. A few more chapters in, I grew impressed with how much I could identify with the struggles Asante experienced living in “killadelphia” and how real his voice was.
I wasn't exactly raised in a neighborhood like him, neither was I forced to navigate myself through a life of gang and drug violence. I mean, I could say that I was there to see my uncles go through that type of lifestyle and I’ve seen them have so many run ins with the law. I can still hear my grandparents lecturing them over and over about growing up black in America and being raised …show more content…
I have race discussions with my friends. I write about it in my papers as often as I can. Why? Because it permeates my life. I cannot escape being Black, even if I wished I could under certain circumstances, it’s impossible. I’ve always been conscious about it and I spend so much time trying to learn about who I am, and where I stand in the world and why I have to be the one who’s always got to maneuver around racism. That’s why I got hella mad at the way Malo was treated and viewed as basically nothing in school because for me, elementary to middle school was tough. The teachers weren't as verbally degrading but it was pretty obvious that no one believed or gave me the motivation to believe that I could grow up into a successful black woman. It hurts to think that so many black children go to school these kind of toxic