Beyond the Norm- Visual

Aalaeyah Dennis 


Beyond the Norm




As an individual in the black community, when you choose to stand out you must be strong. What do I mean by this? As a person of color, we can be judged on every little thing from our community. Whether it's our appearance or our beliefs, many people tend to judge you on it. It can be difficult when you try to be different from everyone around you, but you have to be confident. Sula is a great representation for this. From being a little girl and doing everything her best friend did, to finding her own identity and significantly standing out from everyone in her town. The “norm” for the women in Medallion was to find a man and start a family. Sula chose to go against that. Her being judged on just wanting to be happy alone, this shows how judgmental people can be over something that doesn’t even concern them. 

Back in 2016, a pro football player known as Colin Kaepernick took a kneel during the national anthem before a game. Not only was he receiving strong criticism from white people, he was also receiving backlash from black people. He decided to take a knee or even sit during the national anthem, because he didn’t feel the need to “show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color.” Black people tended to judge him, because they were skeptical of how he was an athlete making moves like an activist. Many also didn’t fully understand the message he was intending to send, but as time has passed, more and more people are understanding where he was coming from. 

My visual representation of this can be shown through these varieties of photos. With a brief description of who these people are, it can be noted how they never let people’s judgement or words affect them. 

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