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Why I, A Black Woman, Hate The Phrase “Black Don’t Crack”
Skin color alone doesn’t serve as sufficient insurance against the effects of decades of poor lifestyle choices.
What black people see whenever they come across an older black woman or gentleman who looks to be in excellent condition is the color of their skin, which is what they use to justify their pride in being black. As if skin color alone serves as sufficient insurance against the effects of decades of poor lifestyle choices. Well, it doesn’t.
Having more melanin is not the sole factor in maintaining youthful looks, flexible and strong bodies, and sharp minds in old age, as other racial groups have also cracked the code to the fountain of youth. Frankly, I even question if race is really a factor at all! Clearly aging well is not reserved for black people only, but for some strange reason we are the only race whose ability to do so is widely acknowledged and celebrated.
While outliers who look amazing in their elderly years despite sitting still, eating more food-like products than actual food, and carrying decades worth of self-destructive vices into old age exist, for the most part it is those individuals that do not use their skin color as an excuse to neglect their responsibility to their health whose black does not crack. The rest? Their black not only cracks, but it shatters.
