Perception

Perception in my own words means the way we view things seeing and analysed from our own minds and perspective.

My archive begins with my own family. My family members are the most important people in my life. I was brought up as an only child in a still very busy household. My mom and I lived with my grandmother, my uncles and my aunt. Growing up solidarity was one of the most important things my grandmother has taught me when it comes to being one as a family. Loving each other during the good and bad. Always being there and standing up for each other when of where ever possible.

Growing up these people had a lot of influence on me as a young girl. On the good and bad moments, happy and mean thoughts, differentiating good from evil and the other way around. How I as a young girl needed to behave, what I could do and what I definitely couldn’t do. They thought me lessons about life, love, difficulties and struggles but most importantly my heritage. Where I ‘am from and what our history was. Me being a Surinamese/Nigerian young woman I had always been curious about our heritage. What shaped our country, how our traditions came about but also how I shaped my view of the world. I was learned to be proud of where I came from, to wear my heritage and blackness as a prize on my sleeve. To make it seen and known that our history had shaped powerful women in our family.

The female members in our family were seen as strong black women, who are independent got their lives and business together, but most importantly always keep it together and strong for themselves and the family. There wasn’t any room to be or show any weakness.

Being so brought up on our family history also had a down side. From I young age (once I started to realize how society and people were shaped) I started to realize how the proudness that I was brought up with wasn’t taken in by everyone. How some parts of society were shaped out to bring only the negative about black people. How black people were portrayed as lazy, criminals, not able to pursue their dreams, fit for certain job descriptions, dangerous just in general stereotypical identifications that weren’t shaped by all of us but used to describe who we are.

I’ve always questioned why and how. Why do people create these identifications to portray a certain ethnic group? To create a narrative that doesn’t define who we as people are. This question has always been something I wanted answers. I was brought up with one of these narratives, to be perceive myself as ‘strong black woman’. Thinking about there isn’t anything wrong with being strong. But this narrative has impacted to many of us that there needs to be a full analysis on why this has been brought up to so many of us.

How the repercussions of post-colonialism have impacted the way people of colour where perceived and represented in the media. How the influence of white oppression had infiltrated the minds of individuals and their thoughts on people of colour. But what is most important to me is how these stereotypes and narratives are still so present and alive not only through society but also within the black community itself.