Black Excellence or Black Exhaustion
Around the world to describe success in the black community the term “black excellence” is used. Whether it is black students on campus, an athlete winning a game, an actor at the Oscars, a new job promotion, regardless of the accomplishment we coin it off by saying “black excellence”.
This term has been used so much it is on shirts and has even become the go to catchphrase for many. For others it has become a goal that many wish to achieve. What “black excellence” means for the individual varies on their personal perspective but as a whole it is the ability demonstrated by a black person that they can reach a level of success or achievement recognized by an outside party.
While originally meant to highlight the good in the culture it has become closely related to black exhaustion. Pushing individuals to their extent, the true side of achieving black excellence is not shown. The burnt out and the pressure that a person may put on themselves to reach those levels is more than many can handle. The exhaustion comes from the tireless battle that black people have to fight daily to beat systematic racism. Whether it is at work and fighting for a position or promotion. In school working to be the top of the class to prove a point and continuously beat stereotypes and statistics.
As a people, we are tired of trying to prove we are better than the made up version the oppressor holds in their head. The constant pressure to over perform and over achieve weighs heavily upon black individuals because we have to fight harder than our white counterparts.
Even with DEI measures black people had to work twice as hard for half as much. With a history of oppression and having ancestors that defied all odds to give us the lives we have today it is hard not to want to be the best of the best.
The need to be the best can stem from slavery, due to the fact that the slaves had to do their best work all the time in order to avoid retaliation from their masters. Then once we were free as a people they had to continue to hustle in order to receive fair compensation in life. Monetary compensation, rewards, incentive or being treated fairly, there has never been a time when a black person did not have to do more to receive the same as their peers. The system or society has yet to lift their foot off our necks and let us just be in a state of being.
Due to this I oftentimes myself thinking of all the sacrifices from those who came before me and comparing my situations in order to drive myself to keep going. The fear that I am not doing enough and the judgement I may receive if I were to stop and slow down, tear me up and continue to push me to my limits.
However, when you take a step back and think about our past of “black excellence” and the successful people before us. They would be proud and want us to celebrate our achievements. They worked so hard to be seen and heard so we would not feel the same pressure from society, so we shouldn’t bring it onto ourselves.
