"You sound so white."

Trust me. I've heard it more times than I can count, and I'm positive I'm not alone. I'm black, but black people are constantly telling me how white I act because I listen to rock music, or how white I sound when I speak. And let me tell you...

It is one of the most ignorant and annoying things I have ever heard. 

I was raised in a private school setting, minus going to public school for three years. Even beside that fact, my mother also always taught me to speak clearly. Pronounce my words. Enunciate my letters. Don't sound like a mushmouth. Have an extensive vocabulary. Have the ability to talk in languages other than slang. She always told me that that is the way to obtain a successful career. Plus, she worked 12-18 hour days so that I can have the best education, so it is only right that I speak as though I've at least sat in a classroom before. 

But I find it disturbing and quite sad that a black person can only 'sound black' if they sound dim-witted, uneducated, and ignorant. A black person can only 'sound black' if we say the word 'ain't' in normal conversation, or if we take out a few letters or syllables in words. A black person can only 'sound black' if they sound stupid. And that is from the eyes of a black person. You don't usually hear white people tell a black person that they 'sound white' when they speak eloquently. It is usually only us that degrade ourselves. 

We live in the mixing pot of the world: the United States of America. And day by day, we see our children acting and sounding imbecilic to look 'cool'. Failing in school, setting themselves on fire, doing that stupid cinnamon challenge (I've never understood that--cinnamon is a spice...). Looking like a fool is a growing epidemic, and it is the sole reason why we are not progressing at the rate that we want to be. Speaking intelligently should be something you strive to do. Listening to more than just rap and hip-hop should be something you strive to do (or at least give it a chance). We say that we don't like stereotypes but continue to act so stereotypical. You should aim to be cultured, to be knowledgable. You should yearn to learn so much that no one can tell you anything, and then, learn more. One thing my mother always told me was that there is one thing that no one can ever take from you: your knowledge. 

Because I am knowledgable, I am powerful. Don't you dare tell me that I sound white. I sound like the roaring of the resounding seas demanding to be heard. I am an educated black woman, and I act and sound like one. 

-Kendra