UWM Panel Discusses How Black is Black Enough?

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The impacts of colorism, toxic masculinity, and racial profiling on the black community were only a few of the topics that were discussed at the well-attended ‘How Black is Black enough?’ panel hosted by the African Student Association.

 The Wisconsin room was packed with a diverse crowd of students, alumni community members, and Senator Lena Taylor, the first African American woman to advance in the mayoral election.

 The panel discussed critical topics that not only affect the black community but also false narratives that impact how black people are often perceived in society. 

 Although the word ‘black’ is just a color, Historically and in the present day, it is associated with negative connotations such as fear, undesirable and intimidation. The term “blackness” has a deeper meaning to those that view it as their identity.

 “The magic is in the melanin,” said Troy Washington, a professor at UWM’s Helen Bader Institute. “Once you begin to understand that there is transformative power that blackness possesses, you really can go a long way, blackness is something that no other group of residuals have.”

 Alumna Anita Mogaka, was the moderator for the event. She is also the founder of the Bee Narrative, a media company that aims to shed light on positive stories in the Milwaukee black community. 

 Mogaka, who was born in Kenya shared a personal story that most black men and women could resonate with. She described the defining moment when she realized that she was black.

 “In Kenya everyone is black, so there is no sense of ‘oh I am black so that person is that,’” Mogaka said. “It wasn’t until I came to America and I was put into ESL classes, which taught me how to speak English, was when I realized I was black.”

 All the panelists had different yet similar experiences that made them aware of their blackness. Like Mogaka, alumna Ameena Abubakar Yusuf could relate to her moment.

 Yosuf was born to a white mother and a black father. After living in Nigeria for thirteen years, before moving back to the United States, she realized the emphasis placed on her race.

“In Nigeria you are what your tribe is but over here you are black based on the color of your skin,” Yusuf said. 

 As a black man living in one of the most segregated cities in the U.S., UWM alumni and founder and owner of Young Real Estate company, Lavelle Young explained that around the age he began driving he knew that his skin was deemed threatening to society.

 “The coming of age when I started driving was when I realized I was a black man in Milwaukee,” Young said. “I have been pulled over and taken out of my vehicle numerous times, never have I been to jail or arrested but my blackness was an opportunity for the officers to stop me.”

 There have been numerous studies that showed that minorities specifically African Americans are more likely to get pulled over by the police compared to their white counterparts. 

 Mogaka discussed the pressure Black people sometimes find themselves under to assimilate in white spaces whether it is at school or in workplaces.

“Black people often have to tone down their blackness or stray away from being too black happens all the time in politics and everyday life,”  said advocate Vaun Mayes.

Washington explained that code-switching is the act of changing your language, how you speak or act in a certain setting. Which he explained was valuable to some degree because it is often how black people navigate through some spaces.

 “However how much of us do we have to compromise before we begin to disvalue ourselves or disvalue blackness, is my question that I would propose to any other groups or individuals,” said Dr. Washington.