“No, it’s not that I’m saying you’re not black, it’s just that you, you know, you speak... grammatically correct.”

Growing up in an almost homogenous city of sheltered individuals, hearing these comments soon became as normal as watching the sun rise. It’s as if whenever I make a new acquaintance, the almost inevitable discussion presents itself. It’s kind of formulaic:


1) Insert the backhanded racist comment about a random black passerby.
ex. “Why does that girl talk like she walked straight off of a slave plantation?”

2) Follow up with the half-assed, bigoted justification, as if they expect me to be glad that I’m not the target of their blatant racism.
ex.“Oh, I hope you don’t get offended when I call her ghetto. You’re so not like any of those other ghetto black girls. You’re actually intelligent.”


Why is it that people consider someone’s vernacular to be the sole determinant of their intelligence? When did people who use African American Vernacular English become the antonym for intelligent? When did “good” become synonymous for “white”? Sorry, but I don’t take compliments that come at the expense of other people, especially when those “compliments” are ignorant implications about an entire race.