Black People Make the Erica Mena’s of the World

Ugh, the power of social media nowadays. You can be totally not following something, could never have seen or heard about this show and that to end up hearing about a situation or person over and over again. It just is the way of the world nowadays. It seems as though Tik Tok, IG, Facebook and so many more have the pull and influence of CNN, Fox and NBC. Especially for the younger demographics. Case in point, the Erica Mena situation being thrown in my face with every site I browse on.

I’m not a hypocrite so I will begin with I have watched Love and Hip Hop before. The only seasons and storylines I followed semi religiously are about 10 years old. It was the Atlanta season, the Joseline, Stevie and Mimi drama. The K . Michelle and the Rasheeda stories. I’d catch snippets of New York and LA as well. Let’s call it what it is. Ratchet entertainment is good entertainment. Who doesn’t like to watch someone acting uncouth or showing their whole AssSETS to the world? Who hasn’t quoted a memorable from a reality tv show? I will not front like I don’t like or haven’t liked watching Black people acting a complete fool. Is it low vibrational and perhaps I’m a part of the problem? Sure. But at the same time , let’s not pretend like all other demographics aren’t happily partaking in their own shenanigans. Let’s not act like other people aren’t happily display themselves as a whole fool.

The difference, of course, is our history and our contemporary leads to greater consequences for Black people who entertain as such. Black people and Black lives will always be painted in the mainstream through the eyes of white people. When they are signing the check, they are pushing an imagery. When they throw someone in your face, they are in charge of the reigns. Black people who are looking for mainstream success, accolades, and funding have white handlers. Let’s talk about it.

It is not in the interest of white people to show the best of Blackness. They have shown and show that time and time again. So when we’re dealing with the lowest brow of entertainment on any of these media stations and they feature Black people, know that shenanigans will abound. As well as historical tropes, stereotypes and problematic messaging.

I understand and support the conscious Black people who do not wish to partake and who will not laugh or cosign their denigration. But until money isn’t the deity that is worshipped in this country and world, you’ll be hard pressed to find an exodus of Black people from ALL industries that break us and keep us pushing 17th century tropes.

Erica Mena, called Spice, a monkey. A Blue Monkey from what I’m hearing. They are both on Love and Hip Hop Atlanta in the current season. Erica Mena is a lightskin Hispanic woman. Spice is a darkskin Jamaican woman. They were having a heated discussion and as par for the course with reality shows, they threw major mud at each other. Erica Mena has seemingly been fired or demoted and has defended her position as “ a Black woman as well.”

This is my problem with so many Hispanics who use that line. It is always to defend themselves when they use problematic offensive language or gestures towards Black people or in general . They defer to possessing some level of African ancestry in order to be held up as an example. From Jennifer Lopez, Cardi B, Fat Joe and Erica Mena, all of them have profited on using aspects of Black culture notably the usage of ‘nigga’ to elevate themselves. This is a problem on type of problems. Because if your only ownership of Blackness is for you to be able to use a slur or vernacular that isn’t native to your people, you have missed the message. There is never that Black ancestry being used to advance the causes of Black people.

Black people ourselves have problems with Nigger and its’ cousins. I hate how much this word has gone out in the world. Because everyone has seemingly embraced nigger and tries to divorce it from its’ ignorant, animalistic origin. What I have always understood is that Nigger and all of its’ cousins, if it was used when I was growing up, it was an in house usage. Meaning Black people used it with each other. It was not to be used with others. There are many Nigger using Black people who will fight a white person or other using that word. It may not make sense to others but it should be understood that everything is not for everyone. There is a loaded history and contemporary there and it should be respected as such.

I co-sign those Black people who hate , shudder and say they never use the word and associate with those who do. I understand. But I also understand that the word has a place in our cultural identity and history whether we like it or not.

Back to Ms. Mena though. Ms. Mena and her other Latino cousins who occupy this place of unassuming cosplay Blackness is what happens when the lines between Black people and those near us get blurred out of existence. It is when Black people start referring to these Latin American ancestry people as ‘lightskin’, a term we use amongst ourselves. It is when our men start to flaunt these same women on their arms at a rate that it feels like a requisite. It is those same men who are so colorist themselves that they excuse and encourage the anti Blackness against their sisters and themselves. It is when our aesthetic of weave and baby hairs seems to take over the nation. It is our continued exalting and pedestaling of non Black people and anti Darkskin messaging dominating our music and media. It is in the way so many of us are either too slow or too tired of being vigilant and have let ourselves be swept up into this Willie Lynch engineering. We are lost as hell. And so few of us seem to be making the connection of how much we support our own erasure and our own denigration.

Every time we allow these others into our spaces. Every time we marry them and have their children. Every time we bash and denigrate our own people, we are a part of the problem. All of these people want our traits, our flavors and our essences without the consequences. They will fully exploit any inch given to them to cosplay as Black and perpetrate the worst of Blackness fully cognizant they will never be held responsible.

You can’t have enlightenment and stupidity in the same vein. You can’t seek to find pride and resilience in a place of apathy and denigration. You can’t look for others to respect your identity if you don’t respect your own. And that’s just facts on facts. Social media makes this stuff worse really. It is one thing to watch the tv shows and quite another to parade that same stuff as a viewer in to your world. It is almost like everyone gets tuned in to the same channel.

Erica Mena ain’t sorry. In fact ,she probably got a bonus from the Big Boss whoever they are for renewing interest in a flailing minstrel show. Some of the social warrior crusaders are activated to take a racist , colorist to task for their anti Black views. When really the focus should be on us in house tackling our susceptibility and participation in the systems that harm us. I wish as Black people we could be like those people who shall not be named. But whom if you diss them once, you are done for forever. They get on code in ways we could only ever imagine. Keep on advocating your own erasure Black people. Keep on pedastaling the lightest and brightest amongst us. Keep on performing as we have been recommended. If we think the Erica Mena’s of 2023 are bad, imagine the Erica Mena’s of 2043. Surely ,we haven’t seen anything yet.