“I’m Black, But I’m Not…” is a BuzzFeed video that addresses stereotypes about Blacks by showing a diverse range of Black young adults talking about Black identity and stereotypes. The first part of the video shows the people finishing the statement, “I’m Black/a, but I’m not…,” and the second part shows them affirmatively stating, “I’m black and I am…” In the end, all of the featured individuals proclaim pride in their blackness. This video was published in 2016 on BuzzFeed, and is part of a series of videos addressing stereotypes and identity, such as in the “I’m Muslim, But I’m Not…” and the “I’m Asian, But I’m Not…” videos. BuzzFeed is an American internet-based news and entertainment company known for producing content that is popular culture/entertainment-oriented and easily sharable and engaged with through social media. While they also produce news articles, most BuzzFeed content is in quick to digest image and graphics-based forms such as lists, quizzes, and short videos.

discussion

What stereotypes about Blacks are the people in the video responding to? Are you aware of these stereotypes? Did anything they say surprise you? Did you learn anything new?

How are Blacks portrayed in mainstream U.S. movies, television, the news, and other media that you’ve seen? How does this affect the everyday lived experiences of Blacks in the U.S., where visibility and diverse representations are limited and often stereotypical?

Are there problems with reducing people to one singular aspect of their identities? How does the video challenge this kind of thinking?

Do you think this video is successful at demonstrating that people have many identities and are multifaceted? Why or why not?