Rachel Jeantel: Fully Figured, Fully Intelligent, and Fully Hated on Twitter

Apparently, this past Sunday, Justice Clarence Thomas did not tune into the epic night that was Next Chapter and Dark Girls on OWN. Justice Thomas has a great aptitude for prejudice and his reverence for Whiteness is only matched by, well, our own. Twice this week, Justice Thomas has been on the wrong side of history, but he has been in line with a long tradition of Blacks hindering the rights of gays and aspiring to Whiteness. White gays have long seen the Black community as an obstacle to gay marriage in the United States. At virtually every traditional-marriage rally, African-American religious leaders have played a prominent role. White gays also despise those that are a kin to them (Black gays) for the perceived lack of socio-political engagement in the matter. For White gays, Justice Thomas is now seen as ignorant, one that cannot, or rather, refuses to see the intrinsic link between gay civil rights and African American civil rights. I expected White twitter to be furious with Justice Thomas, but it was Black Twitter who also jumped on the bandwagon. I don’t quite understand. We are the same community that values ‘good hair,’ ‘proper English,’ and ‘lighter skin’. Of course Justice Thomas is in the pocket of the White man, we all have been. Viola Davis described it best, when she said we create cerebral narratives that “our make up has always got to be perfect, our hair has always got to be perfect, [or] if it’s a male in a narrative he’s always got to have tight abs,” if not we show how much we hate ourselves. As I write this article, I am also watching the Zimmerman/Trayvon Martin trial. I am honestly saddened beyond measure. Rachel Jeantel, friend of slain Black teen Trayvon Martin, is on the witness stand being badgered by a White man with a law degree; while on Twitter, her dark skin, ‘bad hair’, and weight are being shredded apart by Black people. The two that scrolled across my twitter timeline were by two males, one with light skin, and yes, the other with those tight abs Viola Davis mentioned. Before we crucify Justice Thomas lets take a hard look at ourselves; there is danger in forgetting we are all n-ggas no matter how assimilated. We demand so much of one man, when we have offered so little ourselves.