Great writing as always.

When you said, the media portrays Blackness as thugs and drug dealers, I thought "right but even a segment of Blacks very much define THEMSELVES that way!" Then you acknolwedge the point in your next sentence.

And I thought about WHY? And how this changes.

Well human's are wired to identify and bond into groups. The groups can be around many things. But often it is a thing that one can assess before even speaking to a person. So race is always high on the list. It will be hard for it not to be. I cannot think of a single ethnically identifyable group that does not have notable attachment to that race in the presence of other races. So I think we are stuck with the category.

But still nothing really forces the associations one might have with the group. That evolves from forces both outside and inside the group.

one idea would be to start believing in other more positive attributes for the group. but I worry, that might still lead away from societal success, if for example we focus on prowess in sports or music.

another idea is for it to become fasionable to downgrade the centrality of Blackness itself. Yes, I have brown eyes, but it is of no great import.. it just is.

But I feel few Blacks will even embrace this approach. Blackness is too important to relegate to a mere fact in the way that I think of my eye color.

But if it remains central and important as it is now. Then what is the nature of that importance? As a group oppressed? As a culturally distinct group?

well ok. but if it is culturally distinct, then it seems pretty important to tie to neutral or positive items... and even doing this seems potentially dangerous, since it is aiming towards a thing that is not societal success.

I am not posing a solution here, or even a well formed question. Really I am thinking aloud about this situation.

any thoughts?