By Dennis Richmond Jr.
Founder/Director, the NYNJ HBCU Initiative
Fifty years ago, in 1970, singer, songwriter, arranger and civil rights activist Nina Simone released a song titled “To Be Young, Gifted and Black.” When I think about that phrase, I am often reminded about how much of a threat that can mean to some people. For example, since the dawn of time, young people and older people have always clashed. We have seen this in the 1990s when rap music first came out and some adults hated it, while their children loved it.
We have seen this in the 1950s when rock ‘n’ roll was huge, and some adults hated it. We have even seen this in the 1920s when many young women were flappers and older women were trying to hold onto a more “appropriate” lifestyle. Alajah Whitehead, a 23-year-old Mercy College graduate, says that to her, the phrase “young, gifted and black… describes a person and their qualities.”
That’s just the young part, though. To be gifted is almost as if you have something that others around you either don’t have, or to be able to do something that others around you can’t do. Many children and young adults are gifted. Gifts might look like being able to sing, publicly speak, being a scholar or playing a sport.
To be black – just like to be any other culture that is not the dominant society – will bring its own challenges. Christopher Henderson, a 23-year-old graduate of South Carolina State University, an HBCU, says that to him, the phrase means “exceeding expectations that were set against us.”
My advice to those who are “young, gifted and black” is to hold on. There will be many people who do not want you to use your gifts. People will try to downplay your gifts. Some people might say you’re too young to do something.
Believe me when I say that you need to keep moving. I led a rally for the late Trayvon Martin when I was 18. I graduated with a master of science degree in education at 24. I have met everybody from President Barack Obama to Cardi B, to John Legend and Angela Bassett.
To be young, gifted and black in 2020 is almost as if you are in your own lane – especially in our current political climate. Hold on, though. No matter what, hold on.
