We posed this question to all of you our on Instagram and Facebook as a result of some actions happening at the time in the Garden and were quite surprised by the controversy it posed. Pangea’s Garden celebrates the beauty of BLACK women, BLACK people and BLACK love. The images we have created and captured in this mission have, mostly, been created by BLACK artists and photographers with BLACK muses. But we’ve seen and shared some incredible works from visionaries who were not of color and almost all have claimed to have a profound love and appreciation for BLACK folks and our struggle. They have proclaimed their love of BLACK people. So the question persists… Can you be pro-BLACK and date outside the race? Here’s what you had to say…
responses on Instagram
- lunamoonuh If you are a black person who believe one can be “too” pro black your opinion is not valid
- ifomascanvas You can be. But it will take away some of your thunder. We can be bigots but not racist accept where we have power.
- thatkellyj You can if the person you’re saying is pro black
- stuntman_mike1 I am…
- itskannahnow Yes
- tecboy217 Hell 2 da naw naw NAW! Jus playin!?
- parachutepapi What if as a white male I support pro-blackness with my partner?
- jazsoul_020 Yes but only when you both understand
- iandidea It seems hypocritical. Can you be prolife and have an abortion? How do you define problack? Living your politics is less tricky.
- yahdna No you cannot
- freelancertales Yes, definitely. Dating someone outside of your race and culture does not mean giving up your own.
- tequeue77 Does dating outside of an antiquated idea (race) mean you are anti-yourself, or pro-love?
- theboi_kay It’s not wrong… diversity is key…
- iam_kmar Yes you can and no it’s not wrong. Just because someone is pro black doesn’t mean they are against other races. Besides, you have a right to date or love anyone you want.
- uncle_tom_tehuti To be Pro-Black in modern society is drastically different from being Pro-Black 30+ years ago. Back then, there was an idea of who and what the enemy is. Today, not so much. Or rather, the Blacks of modern society dont care. Back then, it use to be building. Stay among your own, looking out, etc. Today… it simply means to love being melaninated and nothing more. Bottomline; Black people today dont really care about Black Love. If they did then they wouldnt be so willing to date non-Blacks. They would be more loyal. But hey…
- sankofa.foto Sure. You can be a hypocrite.
- rlcrawdaddy No. Give up the pro black stance and just be yourself. Be black in YOUR OWN WAY.
- thepowercouple7 No
“… about being pro black and dating outside the race, imma give u a few examples: Lorraine Hansberry. She was pro black but her husband was white. LH was known for her play A Raisin in the Sun. During her career she was friends with activists of the Harlem Renaissance Era and the civil rights era. Minnie Ripperton. Well known American singer and mother of Maya Rudolph. Her husband was white was well. J. Anthony Brown from the Tom Joyner Morning Show. His wife is white but he will be the first to tell u that he is probably black.”
responses on Facebook…
- Mac J. Petion You cant say you want to love and up lift your race and your married to the race that wants to kill you.
- Denzel Phoenix No, at least for me I feel like as a black man the black woman is my other half. She is a reflection of me. We have started humanity together. We built empires together. We fought wars together. Etc… So for me I feel like being pro black is a spiritual connection between the black community that binds us through our trails and tribulations that we have experienced throughout history. It’s a connection so strong when aware of it you know you can’t experience it with anyone who isn’t us. It’s connection of the spirit not the flesh.
- William Christopher Nixon i think you can
- Eusi Ndugu No
- Michael Seven Often many over think things, where it makes it more complicated than what it should or have to be. Yes you can be pro black while dating or married to someone who is not black. I never liked generalizations. White people in general are not the enemy.
- Ricky Owens In my eyes, it makes both you and your rhetoric suspect.
- Oleg Yefimenko Yes, and that’s what I do!
A group of us got together to address this issue In Pangea’s Garden. It was an interracial mix of people who all had strong and varying opinions on the topic. As we started putting this post together, the discussion continued. The cast for the images of this feature all had strong opinions on the subject. So much so, that, earthSista LUNA pulled everyone together to produce this raw and frank discussion on video and these are their responses.
So what do you think? Do Black folks betray themselves by stepping outside of our race to date and what is the big deal? Is there a concern about what it might lead to? And can there not be found strength and benefit from those who love and appreciate us as a people. Is the liberation and unification of Black people in America hindered by intermingling of our culture with there’s or can it, potentially, be empowered by it?
When we give them soul, do we lose ours? Seriously, what does it lead to?
What do you think?
