The Idea of an Essay, Volume 3

2 The Idea of an Essay: Volume 3 Talking Black Mojadesinuola Adejokun Mojade Adejokun is a Sophomore Psychology major with a minor in Women’s Ministry. She hopes to get her PhD in Psychology so that she can go into counseling, and she wants to continue to write on the side. “Why do you talk so black?” The child asked so suddenly that it shocked me to silence. It was the first time I was asked this question and not the last time. However, at that moment all I could do was stand in the dimly lit school hall confused and pondering, “When did language don a skin color?” I was a fourth grader when this moment happened. And thinking back this may not have been the first moment I had to deal with this. However, this moment shines the brightest when I think back to when color truly became a problem. This was a new experience since I went from a diverse area to a new area where my family was the only African Americans in town. Color never seemed to be an issue or anything to give a second thought to. However, the moment that question left the child’s mouth, the dam broke and the reminders that I was black came rushing down to drown me. I was a first generation African American so my parents both were immigrants who came to America for an education. So I could understand why the phrases I used would be considered peculiar. However, it was not any worse that the “country slang” that was thrown around everyday. After the initial shock wore off I do not have much memory of what I said or did. All I know was that it was never brought up again and I changed the way I spoke to fit in. Two years later I found myself moving once again to a different school unlike the last one there was a bit more diversity, however nothing worth bragging about. Once again I was the only African American in my class, but it took about a year or two for the ridiculous color issue to be brought up again. I cannot remember how it was started or who said it first, but my race was brought into