Being black in America is tough, especially when throwing in different factors such as age, skin tone, cultural background, and what region/ area they are from. This causes people’s experiences to vary. We have seen not only racial tensions in the United States spike and be more acknowledged since past President Trump was in office, but the summer of events that took place in 2020 that furthered racial injustices as well.

The discrimination of those who identify as Black or African American have been at alarming high rates. Incidents involving Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Elijah McClain, Daunte Wright and so many others are being brought to light. The streets are continuously filled with people marching demanding justice and using the #BlackLivesMatter. In this modern day struggle of trying to make everyone see that black lives matter just as much as everyone else's, you have to ask yourself: what experiences have black people really gone through to make their outlook on the world be so critical? How tough is it, to really be a black person in today's society?

Well, I am here to give you an opportunity to get a little insight on the lives of three different women who identify as black. bi-racial, mixed and Nigeran American. Below you will find words that are paraphrased and quoted to detail their specific black experience. With this feature, I hope that you will get a chance to step out of your biases and look at not only these three different individuals based on their own unique experiences but other people of color and not through a prejudial lense.

Meet 26-year-old Dominique Bates. She is a mixed (black and white) American woman. She is the biological child of a mixed (black and white) mother and a black father but the daughter of a mixed (black and white) mother and a mixed (Korean and white) father. Bates was born and raised in Vallejo, CA until the age of 12 and then moved to Illinois.Throughout her life, she has experienced her fair share of racism experiences. From getting a dead rabbit's head put in her mailbox after flipping someone off for calling her the N word, to being called blackie by an ignorant ‘friend’, to having her very first experience with racism at age 5; when two young white girls told her she could not swing with them on a camping trip because she was black.When talking about her racism experiences at a young age, Bates said it was a process. She would receive racism from people she knew, they would apologize and then they would go back to being friends five minutes later. She chalks that up to being young and naive. But now at 26, she recognized that there can’t just be a switch that flips on and off. That it takes time to realize what was wrong and correct it.

“Racism is a traumatic experience and imagine me, someone who is not very dark skin, who has gotten to live in diverse areas and haven’t had run in with police officers because I am passing and to not experience the extent of racism others have and to still be traumatized speaks volumes to what racism can do...”

When asked to describe what it’s like to be black in today's society, Bates used the words “empowering, exhausting, and frustrating.” As a mixed person, Bates feels that it is exhausting to constantly not be able to fit in. Being too black to fit in with the white community and too white to fit in with the black community.

“This country was founded on racism and from then to now in 2021 it is quite frustrating “and annoying knowing that some people will never change and some people in my life just don’t get it” said Bates.

She then used the word empowering because she feels like there is a chance of growth for the country. No one can deny this country’s flaws and label the US as the best country, because it is not always black and white.There is a big grey area and with incidents involving Breonna Taylor and Ahmed Arbury coming to light it is making people realize there needs to be more change. We also see more allies emerging.

Today, Bates spends her days working with her own social justice organization, Walk It Like We Talk It, which is very active in the Decatur IL community. They have a strong stance on social justice and are working hard to make it an official nonprofit organization.

Meet 21-year-old Eva Anthony. She is a bi-racial (black and white) American woman. She is the child of a white mother and a black father. Born and raised in Herrin, Illinois, Anthony comes from a very white based country Republican town. She remembers there being a race war every year at her high school. Tension was always thick between the majority and minority students with there only being a few black families living in the area. Growing up even though she is fair skinned she didn’t fit in with the white community. She got along more with her black side; she never felt she needed to change who she was. This caused her to butt heads with a teacher one year in high school. Anthony even recalls a time when a teacher who was known to be racist towards black students through jokes and slick words caused issues for her surrounding her grades. In Anthony’s household growing up, she and her brothers were taught to educate themselves. To go outside of what the American history books taught them; to learn the truth about black history.

“...Educate [yourself] on actual history that has happened to black people throughout time and [don’t base your] ideology and confusion off the american education system. Go against superficial movies. Yes some black people thrive and make it through the cracks, but not everyone has the same opportunities.”

The three words Anthony used to describe what it’s like to be black in today’s society were “empowering, targeted, and oppressed.”

“We are kicked down the ladder from everywhere,'' said Anthony.

When talking about the word oppressed, she talked about how the criminal justice system can be very oppressive; especially when thinking in terms of the school-to-prison-pipeline. She chose the word empowering because of how today’s events are giving people, especially the younger generation the right to their voice to speak and advocate for themselves and their families.

Today, Anthony is about to graduate from Millikin University. She has served as the president of the Black Student Union and she was actively involved in being a mentor for other students of color; especially black males who were often targets of racial profiling. One incident Anthony shared was when cops approached a congregation of black students in front of one of the residence halls and unclipped their guns because some of the black males were grabbing at their waists pulling up their pants; they assumed they had guns. She felt it was her duty to deescalate the situation.

Meet 21-year old Funke Odufuwa. She is a Nigeran American woman. She is the child of a Nigerian father and a Nigerian American mother. Odufuwa grew up on the North Side of Chicago around a lot of different ethnicities with mixed backgrounds. When she was in high school she was one of three Nigerian American females in a scholarship program; the other students being white. She said this is where she felt disconnected from other black students as well as other students in general. She also struggled with administration a lot. She pushed and challenged them to acknowledge their faults. The ideology that knowledge is power was big in Odufuwa’s household growing up. Her parents were passionate about education and made sure to teach her that because she is black in America; her education will grant her the opportunity to go far in life.

“Although you are a part of a race, you are still your own person. Focus on yourself and learn your history. Get closer and more intune with yourself and everything will work itself out...”

Heavy, empowering, and cautious were Odufuwa’s three words used to describe being black in America.

“Being black in America is such a heavy thing to carry for the rest of your life” said Odufuwa.

There will always be something going on and it will always relate back to being black. When it came to empowering she talked about how there is a lot of momentum going on within the black community and how there is starting to be more wokeness. For caution, Odufuwa talked about how as a black person being cautious is built into how we move and maneuver to be safe.

Currently, Odufuwa is the new president of the Black Student Union for the 2021-2022 school year, she is also involved in a mentorship organization for at risk youth called Shoes-to- Fill at Millikin University. They work with children, mentor and tutoring them to help prepare for their future. Their main demographic focuses on black boys and girls.

As you can see, even though these three women all identify as black, their experiences have been vastly different. While there are stereotypes out there to hurt the black community or to group everyone in the same category please remember that words and actions matter. To discriminate against people due to their skin color is a big issue. No one can magically change their skin tone, but you can change the way you act towards people of color. Though each woman’s experience is different, one thing to note though is that with differences come similarities. All three women used the word empowering when talking about being black in today’s society. This goes to show that even though being black in America is tough there is a silver-lining. As crazy as that sounds, we are becoming more unified and working together as a community on correcting this corrupted system. Please remember, just because someone is black doesn’t mean they have to have gone through a traumatizing event to validate their blackness.

A glance through a looking glass on the black experience