Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Redefining What It Means To Be Black, James Williams

Black Issues Conference

Identity crisis plagued my psychological and physical experience when I was raised in Fall River, MA and Wilson, NC. Labels gained significance as I attempted to understand religion, policy, poverty, violence, and race in my household. I learned to believe in a white Jesus, but to fear the white man as well as my fellow black brothers. I was conflicted by the power of labels, and the role my black inferiority played in this world dominated by manmade labels. All labels come from finite beings who tend to inject their opinions and beliefs from a fear-based position. This perspective tends …