Well, the time has come. Classes are ending. Libraries are filling up. The days are getting longer and the hours spent asleep are getting shorter. This academic year is coming to an end, which means, The Black Column is coming to an end too. The end of an era.
You’re probably thinking, “An era, Taylor? Really? It’s only had 5 updates.” But I poured my heart and soul into those updates. In my attempt to write about blackness and black issues, I grew. I evolved. The column evolved with me. I started out saying I would be reflecting on my black classes, but I ended up talking about music, and black trans women, and the fact that I don’t like people to see me cry. This was really just… a very black column. It was a place for me to talk about black things, without trying to appeal to a non-black audience, without trying to tone things down. And that was very important to me.
I’m actually biracial, and I used to not identify as black at all. In middle school and my first two years of high school, if someone called me black, I would say that I wasn’t. I was really mixed, I’d say, and to be honest, it’s not like I “acted black” anyway. I had a lot of internalized anti-blackness. It’s a little embarrassing to talk about now, and I think almost anyone who knows me is always surprised to find that out.
But isn’t that kind of amazing though? That a 14 year old who would say “I mean, I’m not really black though…” can grow into a 20 year old who writes about her blackness every week? A 20 year old who is unapologetically black and proud of it at every turn? The Black Column is something I never would have thought I could ever do, or even want to do, when I was in high school. But I did it. And it was freaking awesome.
And now it’s over. It’s been a journey for sure. Thanks for taking it with me.
Stay black and beautiful, everybody.
