“I don’t want to base my blackness, or my productivity, or my excellence on the standards of white people,” says Houston-born actress Taylor Polidor. “I want to make my own standards.” And for her, therein lies the problem with “Black Excellence.” On the surface, the phrase implies something positive — but in truth, it comes with a whole host of complications: It upholds a system where Black people have to work twice, three times, even four times as hard to earn allowances that other folks receive as birth rite.
That said, the very notion of “Black Excellence” is a divisive one. People across the country have cultivated and perpetuated a variety of different approaches to the concept: some empowering, some exhausting, and some tragic. That’s why, in this episode of Go Off, Sis, we tap five different Black women to open up about what exactly “Black Excellence” means to them.
“Often times, [Black excellence] can be tied up in material things: the car you drive, the place where you live, the salary you make,” shares Los Angeles-based yoga teacher Jamilah Middlebrooks.
“Black excellence can absolutely be toxic” adds Krystal Franklin, multi-hyphenate journalist, producer, and podcast host. “It’s about going above and beyond. It’s about needing to always exceed expectations.”
Watch the video above for a mix of moving, brilliant testimonials on respectability politics, self-care, and generational trauma, all as it relates to “Black Excellence.” Then, dig a bit deeper with the release of Peacock’s all-new series Bel-Air — a reprise of beloved ‘90s sitcom, Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, re-imagined to explore all the complicated nuances that come with learning and unlearning different, clashing standards of Blackness.
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