My Obsession with Black Mediocracy

Or the inherit lack-thereof when it comes to marginalized groups

In a time where Black excellence is so heavily emphasized, I want to be able to just exist. My fascination with Black mediocracy or the lack thereof started fairly recently, last year right in the middle of the pandemic. 

It was after the murder of George Floyd when I noticed the heightened sense of Black excellence on all social medias. Whether it was Twitter, Facebook or Instagram, it was Black success with the infamous #BlackExcellence on every viral post. The post were all the same and were meant to uplift us and highlight the voices that are so often ignored. I saw beautiful Black Men and Women celebrating their wins. Graduating with honours and becoming the next doctors, lawyers and entrepreneurs. It was motivational and honestly just nice to see the representation.

However, after reading the comments, the praise, and the occasional celebrity interaction under thees viral posts, I started to notice something. Although it is important to acknowledge the excellence of these individuals, what happens to the majority of us who are just existing. Living day to day. 

We don’t make headlines and we aren’t praised on social media. When we have those good days and reach milestones they are internally celebrated. 

When we only see stories of either Black trauma or Black excellence it subconsciously puts emphasis on this certain ideology. The idea that Black people are, or the Black experience should be, somewhat monolith. We either exceed or are suffering. 

When we see movies that features Black stories, it is one of two things, Black trauma or Black excellence. You either see Lupita Nyong’o as a suffering slave or Will smith playing a man that despite his adversities was able to find success. 

But there is an unacknowledged middle ground. A space where people that look like me can just exist. 

The lack of Black mediocracy is also prevalent in Hollywood and those that are seen as the pinnacle of Black beauty. As small steps have been made to be more inclusive there is still an evident pattern in who is spotlighted. Often the lighter skinned or biracial individuals are heighten. 

Or when we do see dark skinned women of colour so often do they have very Eurocentric features, a slimmer nose, lighter hair texture and so on. When it comes to males, the ones in the front are very attractive and in great shape. 

Now on the surface level this is not bad, but it does not reflect the majority of Black people. Most of us do not look like Micheal B. Jordan, Will smith, Zendaya, Lupita Nyong’o, Ryan Destiny, Whitney Houston, and Beyonce. This creates an unachievable standard of Black excellence and the Black experience. 

One of my favourite movies has nothing to do with either of those topics. 10 things I hate About You, a cheesy, effortless, light-hearted romantic comedy featuring two very conventionally attractive leads. They fall for each other and that’s it, there is nothing more than that. No ulterior motive on life and society. No big lesson. Sure, you can dig deep and find some far fetched lesson that the director or screenwriters are trying to show, but ultimately these films are harmless and jovial.

I want that. 

I want to see a dark skinned Black or person of colour in a coming of age romantic comedy being loved and cheered. And guess what? They don’t have to do anything miraculous to have this storyline. 

I want a story to be told that has nothing to do with Black excellence or Black trauma, but instead mediocracy. 

I am tired of seeing my people suffering in the media, especially since this is our reality. I am tired of seeing my people only achieving the highest standards in order for their story to be told. It is inherently telling us that we should feel bad for not wanting to amount to such achievements. We are not all doctors, lawyers or revolutionists. The reality is, some days we just want to be mediocre and not feel any form of guilt. 

So, to this day, my obsession with wanting to be mediocre still stands. BIPOC (Black Indigenous People of Colour) should be happy with just getting through most days. 

As a Black Canadian woman, some days I wake up and am tired of the constant battles I face on a daily basis. On those days, I don't want to strive for the supreme level of excellency and that is okay. I simply want to exist.

We do not need to reach the highest educational achievements to only then be deemed worthy. 

We do not have to only be willing to talk about our trauma in order to be marketable. 

We should be allowed to just exist. 

So, today I’m going to be mediocre. 

My fellow creative peers I leave you with the following questions; Do you strive for mediocracy? Do you want to be mediocre in some spaces? Do you feel that you are allowed to? What are your thoughts and or comments on mediocracy in the Black community or mediocracy in general? Share your thoughts with me. 

Feel free to email me, connect with me on social media(links found on the home page) accompanied by #Blackmediocracy!