Growth is realizing Basquiat’s piece on Miles Davis is a social commentary about black people in predominantly white spaces. An experience dubbed a privilege, it’s one only uber successful blacks have. The entire reason my business partner/friend and I got into an altercation that permanently rifted our relationship.
I advised her to take a Buzzfeed quiz regarding how privileged you grew up. It was suppose to be an exercise in gratitude. That life isn’t as bad as it seems. While I got results of really privileged, she got the exact opposite.
Reviewing the discrepancies in our answers together on the phone, she brought up the question “Have you ever been the only black person in the room?” She thought the question was outlandish and weird. For me, it was a large part of my upbringing on the Upper East Side and more. Both of us were astounded by the other’s response. I never realized all the implications of these incidents. Unfortunately it destroyed our friendship, she felt inferior due to the disparities in how we were raised. Envy made her angry at me. Whereas my angry was directed at the racists whites perpetuating inequality. See the difference? Crab in a barrel ass bitch. Via: Jean Michel Basquiat
