Like any group that has endured much, African Americans have created a strong and mutually reinforcing sense of group identity. That's not a bad thing in and of itself.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
The black community sees itself as one group, and they are all experiencing the same experiences as a group with racism and whatnot, growing up in this country.
There is a tendency to want to treat blacks as a monolithic socioeconomic group.
No other group in America has so had their identity socialized out of existence as have black women... When black people are talked about the focus tends to be on black men; and when women are talked about the focus tends to be on white women.
It comes down to this: black people were stripped of our identities when we were brought here, and it's been a quest since then to define who we are.
Too many whites still see blacks as a group apart.
African-Americans are underrepresented.
I do think, however, that there's a very diverse point of view in the African-American community. There's a lot of different voices that need to be heard. I don't claim and pretend to know the thoughts and opinions and ideas of all African-Americans.
I think that black people, to a degree, need to have a certain level of dexterity. If we want to be at the highest level of whatever our field is, we have to be able to navigate both worlds. We all just know that you gotta be able to put that suit on and have a conversation with people that don't look like you or your family.
I don't carry myself as a black person but as a woman that belongs to everybody. After all, it's the general public that made me - not any one particular group. So I don't think of myself as belonging to any particular group and never have.
Black people, we are not this monolithic group, you know?