Mike recalls being told as a teenager in the 1980s that he was "a black man trapped in a white man's body" because he loved break-dancing, Spike Lee films, and Black music. He once took pride in the label but now sees it reduced Black identity to cultural signifiers while erasing lived experience, and commits to pushing back on such comments.
Welcome to today's video. If you're watching, please remember to leave comments so we know you're here. So you can just post hi. I'd really love to hear your opinion about what we're discussing so we can add to the conversation. I can highlight your comments when you put comments below so we can discuss them. And I think that's really valuable to be able to have a conversation. And that's why we do the live streams. It enables everybody to contribute and be part of the conversation. 'Cause I can bring your comments into this conversation. So if you're watching right now, you can just say hi, or you can leave a question or a comment regarding what I'm going to discuss today. So as I'm talking, please leave comments, please engage so I can discuss those comments. And a lot of times what I'm gonna discuss, I come from, as far as where it comes from in my mind, is I take a little time of quietness when I can In meditation, and it actually often comes out of there. And today, that is what happened. I was out, and I was thinking about everything that's been happening, and a memory came back to me that happened not infrequently when my younger years— and younger could be teens, early twenties— people would say to me, "Hey Mike, you know what? You're you're a black man trapped in a white man's body," and. At the time, I took no offense to it at all. In fact, maybe in some ways I was like, oh, okay, you know, like I almost owned it. There was a little pride there with that. And why they said it, I can only guess on a few things, and some of them made references, so I know why. It was the music I was listening to. Now keep in mind, this was the early '80s I'm going to start with, so the very early '80s. It was the music I was listening to. It was the movies I was watching. And it was the fact that I loved to dance. I still love to dance to this day. And at that time I breakdanced and going back to the early '80s, it wasn't mainstream America. It was out there, but it wasn't mainstream America. And it was, it was even rarer to see anywhere in media or anywhere where you would see somebody other than a person of color breakdancing. And so with that background, I would get these comments. Hey Mike, you're a black man trapped in a white man's body. Now looking back on that, it pains me to think what was happening culturally for someone to say that to me. Let me explain what I mean by that. The idea that the preconceived notion of what a black man was. Was those three components of life: what people saw in movies, what music they heard on the radio, and who they saw dancing the way I was dancing. And that was a black man. That's how a black man was viewed—not as loving, passionate, creative. Hardworking. No, it was this stereotype of what do we see in music? What do we see in videos? What do we see in movies? And some might say, well, Mike, when you say movies, what movies? I'm referring to Spike Lee films, Do the Right Thing. I was drawn to them. Now, why I was drawn to them, looking back, I can see consistency throughout my life. I've been drawn to film documentaries that take a look at culture and other people's lives and other perspectives. And that's what Do the Right Thing was all about, was looking at culture and perspectives and connecting and understanding others and empathy for others. Looking back, I can see that. But what's interesting is people saw me watching films made by Black directors or from the Black perspective, and they thought, well, only someone who's like a Black person would be interested in that. So you're like a Black man trapped in a white man's body. Even having this discussion makes me uncomfortable because now today with understanding how messed up those stereotypes are and that, that at the time I thought it was about me being— I don't even know the right word, but the fact that that is what I loved. And so you talking about the things I loved and identifying me with that, I had no problem with, and I took pride in, but I did not see at the time at all. And this is why it pains me, and I'm uncomfortable in saying it, what that was saying about how those individuals saying this to me saw Black men, Black individuals, in this very simplified categorization of, well, because of music, because of videos, or because of film. This is how we define being a Black man. And so therefore, Mike, because you are attracted to those 3 components, you're a Black man trapped in a white man's body. But I had no idea. And I still to this day have no idea what it is like to be a Black man. No idea. And you could say, but Mike, you watch these films, you read these books. And I still have no idea because I haven't lived that experience. I have zero idea. And if someone were to say that to me today, if they— and usually somebody would say that to me if we're talking about film and I started talking about films, it comes up there, or they see me breakdance, they do come up there. I need to do better. I need to pause and go, oh, that's interesting. What do you mean? And I do engage that conversation because we need to take these conversations way deeper because that might just seem like a little comment off the cuff. But there could be something a lot deeper there that we could reveal and help maybe shift, and not only for the person who says it, but maybe even help me learn more and be more aware and more conscious of this. And so we're going to watch that, and we still see people do that. We still see people make references, but I— this is my personal experience, and I wanted to share it. If you've ever had these experiences yourselves, as far as somebody categorizing an entire group of individuals, in this case, people of color, in this case, specifically Black individuals, by just these 3 components, you can comment there. I know I am no longer comfortable, and I used to be very comfortable with that statement, and I am not comfortable with that statement. I've been uncomfortable Every minute of this video because of what that represents. And it doesn't make me comfortable that I was comfortable with it for so long. And so I promise to do better and to engage in these conversations when people make those references and really engage conversation and try to learn with them, from them, and maybe able to share some insight with each other. So So we both grow through the process of engagement. That's today's video. I appreciate you joining me. If you have any questions here before we sign off, you can remember you can post them. I can see everybody's comments so I can share them. If you're watching, you can even just say hi, but I don't want to drag out the videos. I just try to make sure that we get in, have the conversation each day. That's my commitment, a video a day, and that we can have these honest conversations. Maybe you're seeing this later and you can leave a comment. As for me, my commitment to you is to continually work to do better.
