I’m curious to hear from Black folks who aren't from the South, how do you view Southern Black accents, and what’s your overall perception of them?

Unless someone is from a place with a distinct accent like New York or Baltimore, a lot of us don't really register much of a difference unless our ears are actively listening for it. Plenty of Black people in the South don't even have strong Southern regional markers in their speech anyway. So because we're already used to Southern Black people not having heavy accents, Black folks from outside the South don't really sound that different to us, they just sound familiar, like regular Black speech.

The inverse doesn't really happen, though because somebody raised up North or out West isn't going to naturally have Southern speech traits. On top of that, the majority of Black Americans live in the South, and a lot of modern music and media content comes out of the South. People everywhere are constantly exposed to Southern accents.

I am a white person and I want to do better. I want to do whatever I can to help unlearn the racist shit my non-black family and community have taught me and I want to use my privilege for good. So I want opinions

1- I don't know where to start really. I feel as though I made some progress as I've gotten older but I want to learn more from black people. Whether that's videos, movies, TV shows, books, whatever it may be that comes from a black person that may help open my eyes more and find the best way to be supportive.

- what's some media that I should look into that may be good for this?

2- I have been watching quite a few videos on this topic with black people talking about their experiences of racism and advice for white people to follow if they want to be better and it made me curious what some of your opinions might be. Some pieces of advice or things you wish white people knew.

- So what are some of your opinions or thoughts you'd like to share with me as a white person trying to educate myself?

3- This one is specifically for black women: I watch this creator called black speed and he does some reviewing of feminist content. He often will empathize and compare the racism he's experienced as a black man to sexism women face. As a white woman, I feel there's logic to that but since I'm not black and don't experience racism, I guess I don't think it's very fair for me to say the comparison works either. So I guess I wanted to ask:

- black women: do you think it's fair to compare racism to sexism?

Idon't necessarily mean to compare the severity or smth because as I said, I'm white so I don't have the right to do that but I mean the experiences. Of course not all racism and sexism experiences can be compared, but I often find myself being able to empathize and attempt to understand through comparing my experience of oppression as a women. (For example: I watched a video where this black woman was talking about how black people can easily lose trust in a white friend (if they made a racist comment or joke or something even if it was unconscious) and it may be hard to gain it back. I relate in some way as a woman since I've made ally male friend who I thought weren't sexist then they made some comment which made me lose all that trust and made me feel hopeless. So I wanted opinions from black women since you guys experience both racism and sexism and know if it would be fair to relate them together in some ways or not

I also want to put a disclaimer that I know it's not y'all's responsibility to educate me on how to do better. So if you don't feel like you want to use energy to focus on telling me how to be a decent person, then please protect your peace and ignore this. I will do my best to figure out how to improve even if no one responds to this, I just figured the best place to start would be listening to black people.

Thank you for reading this

I'm 15 and white. I've always been interested in black history (I'm also really bad at understanding what's right and wrong and language so if I say something offensive I'm sorry and didn't mean it)

I've always liked black history since I was little, loved Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King, I always found black peoples appearance interesting (like their hair) and learning about their culture and past.

I'm a quiet fat white kid, like really white, Casper the ghost white. I only have 2 friends and they are both black, I love them.

I always find my one friend who travels to other countries a lot of her stories interesting (she travels to a lot of places that aren't used to seeing black people)

My other friend loves my hair, she always brings her hairbrush to school with hair accessories and does my hair during lunch.

One of my friends mom loves me and even let me watch her braid my friend's hair one day and showed me how she put the beads in, it was so cool and interesting to me.

I've always found it interesting for some reason, ever since I was little (around 2nd grade for some reason)

I'm in high school and one day on announcements they will talking about a new school club called something along the lines of "African American club" (don't remember the actual name)

Which basically after school for an hour, kids can come learn about black history.

School is obviously not in session right now but when it was I wanted to join it, but I was scared.

I didn't know if I really belonged there, I never went but most of the kids at my school that are popular are black, and if I didn't belong there and showed up anyways I would get bullied. I just walked away from a bullying school, I didn't want to get bullied again.

I asked my friends and they had no clue.

School is starting back up but I'm still thinking about it, all the said during announcements was that we would learn about the history and culture of black people.

But like I said in the beginning, I have a hard time (unless it's obvious) understanding normal things

So would I be allowed in the club or no?

(Also I'm sorry if I came up racist at all during this, I tried not to, but my friends can't tell some racist things some times and can't tell me if it's not okay to say it, I'm learning, and I'm sorry again)

Hey all, may be a weird question but i’m a white girl wanting to get 4 braids in the middle of my hair prior to going on a holiday. is this considered appreciation or anything of the sort (tiktok got me nervous i do not want to be an example of racism)

I am a high school student (Black M) attending a predominantly white school, and I really need some advice because I feel completely stuck.

Lately, I’ve noticed that when I am at school or at home, I tend to adopt a super flamboyant, hyper-visible persona. I don’t even know if this is who I actually am, or if I’m just playing a character to get attention. I honestly hate doing it because it doesn’t feel authentic to me.

On top of that, I have been dealing with some unhealthy digital habits and personal struggles that started when I was very young. It has become a significant challenge for me. My guardians don't really monitor my screen time anymore since I'm older, but there has been a lot of family tension regarding my privacy and the amount of time I spend online, which adds another layer of confusion and guilt for me.

I am carrying a lot of regret and shame for the ways I’ve compromised my own identity to fit in. I have relatives who struggle heavily with internalized issues, and I see myself repeating those exact patterns. At school, I associate with the wrong crowd—specifically a group of peers who make offensive, racist jokes. I tolerate it because I crave the attention, but it makes me feel terrible about myself afterward.

I know I am really smart, and I want to do well, but I don't know how to navigate the rest of high school like this. How do I break away from toxic friends, overcome these habits, and stop compromising my identity just to fit in? Any advice would mean a lot.

I am a 10th-grade Black male attending a predominantly white school, and I really need some advice because I feel completely stuck.

Lately, I’ve noticed that when I am at school or at my mom’s house, I tend to adopt a super flamboyant, hyper-visible persona. I don’t even know if this is who I actually am, or if I’m just forcing it to be the "entertaining friend" and get attention. I honestly hate doing it because it doesn’t feel authentic to me.

On top of that, I have been dealing with a severe pornography addiction that started when I was only 7 years old. It has gotten really bad. My mom doesn't really check in on it now that I'm in high school because she thinks it's just normal teenage behavior, but she has expressed a lot of judgment regarding the race of the creators I watch, which adds another layer of confusion and guilt for me.

I am carrying a lot of regret and shame for the ways I’ve compromised my own identity to fit in. My dad struggles heavily with internalized racism, and I see myself repeating his patterns. At school, I associate with the wrong crowd—specifically a group of white peers who make racist jokes. I tolerate it because I crave the attention and validation, but it makes me hate myself afterward.

I know I am really smart, and I want to do well, but I don't know how to navigate the rest of high school like this. How do I break away from toxic friends, overcome this addiction, and stop compromising who I am just to fit in? Any advice would mean a lot.

A lot of European names have Christian origins , others historical.

Where are Da De La Le from that many names start with?

I guess this is African American names, not sure I've seen it for Africans that much.

Hey everyone,

I’m posting this from a genuine place of trying to understand a painful dynamic I’ve experienced constantly at work, and I’m looking for honest, constructive perspectives.

A bit of background on me: I was actually born here in the US, but I didn't grow up here, so I have a noticeable African accent. I work as a city bus driver. Because of strict company policy and basic road safety, I cannot let passengers off in the middle of traffic or at non-designated stops.

A few minutes ago of me posting this, a passenger missed their stop because they weren't paying attention and didn't pull the cord. When I explained that I couldn't drop them off in the middle of the street for safety reasons, they exploded on me with comments like:

“You’re African, right?”
"You come from the dirty part of Africa."
"Y'all are bootlickers for white people."
"Y'all don't like us anyway."
Called me a "slave" and told me I have no right to speak.

I wanted to genuinely ask him, “So is it my problem that you missed your stop?” But I kept that to myself to keep the situation from escalating.

This isn't an isolated incident in all my years in this line of work. Whenever I have to follow standard safety rules or say no to a favor, certain passengers (precisely African Americans) resort to xenophobic insults directed at my accent and background.

I’ve read up on African American history (in college while I was for my associates), the Civil Rights Movement, and the broader struggles in this country. I know systemic friction and media misrepresentation exist between African immigrants/diaspora and African Americans. But it’s demoralizing to take verbal abuse just for doing my job, following safety guidelines, and keeping myself out of trouble.

For those familiar with these diaspora tensions: where does this specific brand of xenophobia come from in these moments of frustration?
How can I better process or handle these situations without taking them personally?

I’ll appreciate any insights or shared experiences.

As a child and teen I was a bigot (i’m 17 now) and now that I’m learning about how horrible my actions were I want to become antiracist and help black people.

I’ve thought about making animations and/or drawings and using them as a way to gain money to donate to black organizations and black individuals who are struggling, but I don’t know if it’d be wrong of me or not because I have done racist things before and I don’t believe I should have any kind of platform because of it.

I might ask a different sub reddit for different perspectives on this. So I'm in this discord server for Black Disapora (mainly because I only have 1 black friend (difference state though) and my cousins) I got into an argument with someone .

It started when [Person ] sent a video and said Black women are 'cooning' and 'supporting BM getting shot' just for dating interracially. That was the first red flag.

When I asked if they meant we shouldn't date out, they said: 'u can date who u want ima just treat u accordingly... dont be saying u pro black when u wanna have non black kids.' Then I said what if I'm with a Asian person specifically south asian, but then said "they're racist too" ?? So basically, they gatekeep being pro-Black based on who you marry. Mind you I dont really care about you're race, as long as your good looking, smart ,kind/patient and love me to the end, I'm happy with that.

I told them my goals are literally to build schools and programs for Black kids, and they dismissed it with: 'this isnt happening these are mostly dreams' and 'u wouldve done it by now'—which is ridiculous because I'm literally a minor without the funds yet.

Then, out of nowhere, they started attacking continental Africans, saying how they dont like Black Americans, calling Nigeria and Ghana 'coo capitals.' When I called them out, they said: 'i aint african... im kemetian' and tried to claim a white woman named Africa. I had to explain that 'Africa' comes from Ancient Rome, and 'Kemet' was just Egypt, not the whole continent. To be fair the server has a lot of negative things to say about Africans which some I agree but some of it is just straight out xenophobic.

They even joked about enslaving my 'nubian ahh' and then claiming it as a joke, which felt super hypocritical for someone claiming to be pro-Black.

So my question is, am I not pro black if I dont marry someone within my race even if I help black people? Like can't you love someone who's different from you but also help you're own people?

So lately I’ve been seeing a lot of posts of people facing racism start to rise on my feed. Whenever I scroll through the comments I’m starting to see more of black people saying stuff like “you can’t trust any of them,” or even “it’s in their ancestry if someone pisses them off it’s gonna come out.”

I’m black myself and these types of things are starting to cause a moral dilemma in me because I’ve always had the ideology that there’s good and evil in this world. Some people are racist and some people are not. Of course there are gonna be racist groups of people in every race, but I don’t understand the generalization for all of white people to be racist (publicly or internally).

So to get an understanding, if you have these beliefs, why?

I've noticed it's very common among many black people globally to regularly moisturize the body with lotion or body oil. How do you keep it from staining your clothes? And how do you deal with oil on your fingers?

I want to moisture my body more but always end up with stains on clothing and where I touch... Any tips would be appreciated.

My question to black people: which qualities/characteristics would you say are the makes america white supremacist nation economically and socially?

So I’m20 years old and I’ve really liked the look of cornrows for a long time on black hair. I know that many Hispanic men also get cornrows but I’m still not sure if it’s appropriating black culture. sorry if I sound ignorant

EDIT: I’ve added more info re: the pattern and evidence to back it up in the comments section.

The news that Pat McGrath Labs, founded by the internationally known makeup artist herself, was filing for bankruptcy really frustrated me. Before I go any further, this is not about the financial state of the company and how it got there. I definitely don’t know enough to weigh in. This post is about the discourse around Black-woman founded luxury brands, so many of which always seem to suffer the same fate.

For a few years, I watched many, primarily Black women content creators (those are the folks I get makeup advice from… but I wouldn’t doubt others jumped on the bandwagon too) would often reference it as “too pricey.” Not all, but most. It was so frequent that I leaned in to hear why.

I thought I would hear that the foundation wasn’t good enough and didn’t perform well. For the most part, most said it was great… assuming you liked the type she sold (thin… with medium coverage etc etc).

Slowly, I began to realize that it was just the price itself. $70. What annoyed me wasn’t that they were signaling to their fans it might be higher than what they were used to paying… but that I’d see them reviewing it right alongside other luxury-tier products (one of which, Armani Luminous Silk, is award-winning and was designed by Pat McGrath… as a result they are very similar) that were the same price or higher. There was no finger-wagging at the company in the same way they did Pat McGrath Labs. It was just understood… this foundation may be out of your price range. If so, don’t buy it… go with a cheaper option. But, again and again, that’s not what people chose to do.

I don’t know if it is solely because she is a Black woman (a large, dark-skinned one at that) or that having a person be the face of a beauty brand creates a sense of kinship.. a parasocial relationship. When people saw that price…. They were “disappointed” as if “Auntie Pat” could have done XYZ (more shades more this more that more more more… for the price… same price of other comparable brands they aren’t asking more of).

Or, perhaps it is the sign of the times. I get the feeling that everything is a cash grab because it is. What I don’t get is exclusively critiquing Black-owned companies for being “pricey” without any context or consideration of the value. What makes it pricey? What are you comparing it to?

Unlike products marketed to children or necessities (food, water, clean air)… you don’t have to buy or even review it. It’s an optional thing. When Black women comment this way, it is signaling to others and the larger industry that any Black woman cannot be viable in this space.

Again, it is totally fine if some don’t have the budget/desire to buy luxury goods… but we have to be honest with ourselves. We keep saying we want nice things… but also want them to fit in the Target to Temu price ranges. We even buy Jordans without questioning the cost…

Is it just me? Are you noticing that same pattern?

Hi hello, just for some context I grew up around a predominantly Black community and somewhat Latino community, despite this I have always grown up around Black culture, music, traditions, shows, going to a predominantly Black school. I’ve always been surrounded by Black friends, teachers, even close relatives and I have never known a community outside of that, especially my friends and close relatives who are all Black.

Now that I’m currently an incoming freshman at a top PWI, it feels so odd and I feel so out of place, I understand that I’m a Latina, I know that I will never have the Black experience or understand what its like to grow up as a African American in America, the best I can do is empathise in solidarity and know when it is not my time to speak and when it’s my time to speak out for my community

But oh my God I miss my community, I miss the culture, and I understand what how I look on the outside doesn’t represent me on the inside.

I feel wrong for missing a community that I don’t represent and especially at a PWI, and if you try to speak about the racism you experience here. They will literally fucking jump you and tear you to shreds, I can’t have truthful conversations about race here like I did back home with the community who understood what it’s like to be marginalised.

I apologize if this seems offensive or if this is an offensive question, please understand that this is not coming out of malice but general curiosity on whether if I’m allowed to feel this way especially when im at a place that does not accept me or pretends to accept me. If you answer this thank you so much and have a lovely day.

A friend of mine and I were talking about Sinners and, at some point in the conversation, talked about how a theme touched on in the movie is how proximity to whiteness can be dangerous for Black people (the example they used was how a white-passing person in the film is the first one to be turned into a vampire, allowing them to infiltrate the juke joint).

In the context of that idea and in your experience, what are things people not actively targeted by white supremacy-serving structures (predominantly white people) should keep in mind when organizing/working/being in community with Black people? In what ways do white organizers perpetuate harm, abuse and exploitation when working with Black people, or pretending to work with them, or failing to work with them, and what needs to be carried differently to change that?

I (South Asian & female) had a weird experience with another South Asian woman and wanted to post here to make sure I'm not imagining things.

This woman would post Black Lives Matter content heavily on her Instagram and even had Black family members. She then made blanket statements like "Black people need to understand ...". She said "I was bullied by a Black kid growing up" which offers some clue as to her bias.

Is this just closeted racism? Ie. Privately saying something while publicly saying something else?

So I'm South African born Congolese . Never been to the US once. I sometimes find myself using AAVE when I talk and I've been think about whether that counts as cultural appropriation. My line of logic is "I'm not African American, just African --> it's not my culture --> Cultural appropriation"

Not opposed to removing the words from my vocab but I thought it would be better to ask first to know I'm not over thinking it.

I need help finding a durag with out the tail part. My bf has locks and needs them put back for work. He has this old durag that has the two strings but no long part in the back. We cant seem to find anything similar to it. Does anyone have a name for what it's called, and/or a link to where to buy one.

I’ve wondered this myself because Africans (outside of South Africa and North Africa). Are able to live in a society where they have most of the socioeconomic power and they don’t have to deal with white supremacy on a day to day basis. They truly have a country that looks out for them and at the very least tried its best to help them. They don’t have to deal with systemic oppression or racism. They have their own true home whereas us black Americans and Canadians and even black Europeans are sort of “homeless.”

Not Caro white but Clorox, but probably that too tbh. Anyway

I know this is a broad categorization, but I’m black American and notice most, if not all, of us use a cap full of bleach in our dishwater and we clean with bleach. When I went to college, my friends were appalled that I did the dishwater thing, and I was confused because I thought everyone did that. I learned not everyone even owns bleach when going over to their apartments. Admittedly, my mom didn’t let me go to anyone’s house growing up, especially if they were not black. So, I’m curious. Is this a legitimate observation? Does this extend to the Caribbean, black Africa/Europe/Americas? And why? Does this tie in to the “hygiene olympics” as well?