There is a lot of negativity thrown at Black people. It’s mostly from racist people and people who are racist but don’t think they are but really they are.

There’s also ignorance we have to deal with and micro aggressions and institutional racism which is insidious and hard to fight.

However, I love being Black.

We are an amazing people. Just think about all that we have been through. It’s not just the Americans but the Europeans and the Africans and the ones in Asian and the ones who are Asian. Goodness, we have to deal with a lot but we’re still here and fighting and living and thriving!

I watched the movie Rocketman and it’s about Elton John and he goes through it. Man, I wanted to rescue him so many times but at the end he makes it through all that and the song they end the movie on is, ‘I’m Still Standing!’ and omd that song hit me.

I have things in my own life that I am going through and struggling with, even when I saw that movie. In fact I saw it on my birthday and I wasn’t having a good day. But that song, it filled me with so much hope and joy I just… I can’t describe it.

So that song is the one that comes to my mind when thinking about how we’re still standing and just doing our best and changing the world one step at a time.

Another thing I love about being Black is our sense of humour. Sometimes we can take it too far but most of the time I feel like laughter saves us. I was talking to my friend and I was like, “If we didn’t laugh we’d be crying all the time” and that’s so true. It is much better to laugh and to find the joy in life than to stay in the pit of sorrow.

Another thing I love is the random things we have in common. I’m British African (she says for the thousandth time on this blog) and it surprised me how much I had in common with Black Americans. It surprised me how much we all have in common (generally) around the globe.

For one thing we don’t mess with juju or ghosts and if our house is haunted then we’re getting a new house because that ain’t our house anymore. It’s the little things you know. I had a job once where there was only one other Black person on the team and they gave me so much comfort even though I’d just met them because we were in it together.

Or like when I went to Australia. There aren’t many Black people in Sydney Australia (at least not in 2014) and so whenever I would meet one on the street it was instant comradeship. I have never approached strangers more than I did in Australia.

This links back to the laughter point but I also love the joy we have for the things we love. Whether it be dancing or art or anime or whatever, that joyous spirit and fun and creative energy, I love that.

We’re so talented and even though Twitter can be toxic it has also shown me how talented we are. We don’t get enough credit for that. We’re not just good at sports or acting, we have skills in all areas and I’m glad I get to see that.

I love our hair, our skin and our eyes. Brown is a beautiful colour and there are so many shades of brown. In my family alone all our eye colours are unique even though they’re all brown. Our hair is resilient and can take many forms. Our skin is gorgeous, just gorgeous!

Our facial features are beautiful too. Our noses, our lips and our figures. There is no one size fits all. We are diverse and just beautiful!

So yeah I love being Black.

There is a lot that sucks in the world but being Black is not one of them.