This Will Be My Undoing

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Morgan Jerkins is an author and associate editor at Catapult, a publishing house and literary association. She has also contributed to numerous publications, including the New York Times, the New Yorker and Rolling Stone.

Jerkins reflects on her journey of grappling with her Black identity in a society that often equates success with conformity to white norms. As a teenager, she altered her appearance and distanced herself from Black peers to assimilate, navigating when to express or suppress her Blackness. This internal conflict highlights broader societal issues, such as the flawed notion of "color-blindness," which dismisses the significance of Black identity, history, and systemic challenges. The erasure of Blackness in favor of a white-centric "universal" standard perpetuates harmful stereotypes and invalidates personal racial identities. Media representation, like the film *Girlhood*, often oversimplifies Black experiences, further marginalizing Black women and girls. Black womanhood, rich and multifaceted, is frequently reduced to stereotypes or appropriated by white culture, while systemic inequities persist in how Black women’s bodies, hairstyles, and cultural expressions are perceived. These disparities, rooted in historical exploitation and dehumanization, continue to shape societal attitudes, underscoring the need for greater understanding, inclusivity, and respect for the complexity of Black identity.

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