Should “blackness” exist?| Mitchell Jackson

As the discourse around race becomes more heated in recent years, Mitchell Jackson questions the existence and necessity of the racial categories of blackness and whiteness at all. Growing up as a stereotypically “black” male - joined a gang, went to prison -- and then breaking out of those stereotypes to become a writer, filmmaker and advocate, Mitchell discusses the invention of race, how it keeps us in a loop of anger and resentment, and what the future may look like.
TEDArchive presents previously unpublished talks from TED conferences.
Enjoy this unedited talk by Mitchell Jackson.
Filmed at TED2016.

[@BlastReadingSeries]

Brilliant, introspective, and honest... Thanks for saying all of this! We will always need new ways to critique race.

[@SeleneSpenser]

@Bennett McCoy How does he not understand the term "Welfare Queen"?

[@melissahenderson4722]

This is compelling and a dream to eliminate the idea of Blackness. People will always think in terms of race because as homo sapiens is all about differentiating one another. We are together because we are similar and divided by differences.

[@quintrellebaltimore937]

I enjoyed the whole inspirational speaker and all Mitch Jackson had to say about Human Race compared to Black or White racial injustice.

[@irenab4611]

I love this

[@shana-gaysmart819]

I agree with the words of this speech

[@gbmtmas]

Amen

[@shana-gaysmart819]

Lol

[@2livelovelaughalot]

One thing I have to say is that there is an assumption that all white people have money, and got to go to school because our parents had money. I have to say I was a child of a mother who was forced to marry a man who was not my bio father because she was pregnant out of wedlock. I should also like to say that the man was spanish, and he left her for a woman who had a kid with another man. My white mother had no income, left with a baby, abandoned. This is not uncommon, and not a black or white thing. It's a situation. I have been on welfare because we had no income, no money, and my mother was between jobs working in factories. Don't assume that all lightly melanated people are privileged. I worked at age 14 to put clothes on my own back. And I am no richer, wealthier today, as I am finally earning my BA degree at age 60, and now have my age against me when going on an interview. I can't make a higher paying salary, and I am a woman. I will not and still can not make as much as a man no matter who changes the rules. While I completely agree with this young man in this TED talk about getting rid of RACE absolutely, we shouldn't be defining ourselves as colors. And contemplating his decision not to kill someone? Like I or you had anything to do with his wrong doings, or who lead him to make a devastating decision to end someone life. Some people kill to get even at a color. And you all know that. And it goes both ways unfortunately. I have never perceived white privilege. I grew up in an interracial neighborhood. You better keep looking for answers. All the applause and Whooping don't mean a damn thing to me.

[@2livelovelaughalot]

Now i expect someone will attack me for my opinion. I will not respond.

[@stefanroche3052]

I’m not here to attack you, I’m just here to say something. I’ll pretty much always be the guy to put something in your head, to think about. Money and poverty are pretty universal problems, the latter of which ofc having shame and trauma with them. I think one thing is just the difference in experiences even within two different impoverished ppl. Like what he said about black on black crime. But poverty, abuse in childhood, all that it’s universal. Some ppl might be more likely to get hawked but eh police, you’d be surprised, and you can look yourself online, that rich, well to do, black ppl even a government agent who was black was hemmed up by the police. If a lightskin black guy from the army gets treated the way he did by police, there’s something going on. We have choices here and there, but we have no choice at all about how each of us get uniquely perceived by society. We’re all probably hurt tho, hopefully healing can take place.