"Black Is, Black Ain't"

For Black August, we will be providing prompts for thought, live from BlackHouse. 
For today, August 1st, the beginning of Black August we asked ourselves: 

What is Black?

"Black is the color of the first humans to walk the earth. Black is the color of pain and suffering. Black is my family; my roots. But most of all, its me." 


"Black is a sort of power. It defines a group of individuals based off the color of their skin and the way they handle life."

"Blackness is an identity shaped by the experiences those of African descent/ancestry experienced because of shared history ad white categorization of genetic features."


"Black/Blackness is a conscience of solidarity and all encompassing understanding. Black is to be in opposition, unheard, misunderstood, the rival of oppression. Black is to birth the most beautiful things to the world and it throws you back the most ugly. People of the African diaspora, created black because they understood, there was no escaping it. It served no purpose to run from it, so they decided to comfort and heal together with it. 
...the black of the U.S. did this
...the black of the Dominican Republic is still running
Maybe when the Black becomes cypher it can fully resolve."

"Black is an identity, usually formed in places where darker skin, specifically that belonging to people of African descent, is discriminated against. It is in part an electric culture that takes from African traditions to some capacity. but is more based in the way diasporic people have adapted in their merging of homeland and the modern culture of the area of relocation. These new hybrid cultures then developed over time through generations as they became more and more their own unique cultures. By having the idea of Blackness in which people of African descent are united by more than a skin color, there is a feeling of substance and community to rally behind and take pride in."

"black is power 

black is influence

black is strength 

black is love

black is magic

black is excellence

black is me

Black 

born knowing you are at the bottom of the totem pole with the whole world against you & still being able to reach the top. Using our pain, sorrow, & trauma turning it into creation innovation and love. from music, to fashion, to technology it all comes by way of black skin. We pave the way for society in a way that cant be replicated. We wont get credit where is due but we still do. Black will and always will be black. There is no new black. Because black is black. 

(From Marlon Riggs, 'Black Is Black Ain't')

I said, Black is! 
Black ain't! 
Black is!
Black ain't! 
Black is blue! 
(So blue! so bluel) 
And Black is red! 
(Bloody red!) 
Black is tan! 
(Light as white!) 
And Black is light! 
(Tell it!)
       -Marlon Riggs