Since my birth more than seventy years ago, my human identity has been designated at all stages as inferior -- from colored to Negro, Black, African American, and even Person of Color. All to assign my place on the social/racial hierarchy in the United States. Despite federal laws, the narratives associated with my identity have never been equated with full equality in the nation. Each designation has separated my group from the privilege of simply being an American.
Global Majority is a term which characterizes the collective ethnic groups which constitute approximately 85 percent of the global population. The term speaks to the centrality and power of language to liberate those groups that, through negative narratives, have been viewed as the “other” or inferior to whiteness. Global Majority challenges the superiority of whiteness. Persons of the Global Majority have come from ancient and rich heritages that have contributed to world civilization since its beginnings.
It is the teachings and lessons from my days as a colored girl that have led me to the choice of identify myself at this point in my life as a Person of the Global Majority. My attachment to this designation meets my human emotional needs of identity, belonging, and self-esteem.
- My sense of identity is enhanced through my cultural connections with the global majority. The interdependence and cooperation of our cultures, cooperation, reciprocity, and interdependence, reflect the core values of helping and sharing, and “giving back,” that I learned as a colored girl.
- To be affiliated with and accepted by others in a society are crucial to one’s sense of belonging. One of the most fulfilling times in my life was a visit to the Marshall Islands where I was invited by local chiefs to share sakau, a sacred ritual drink. I was totally accepted as one of our larger global societies.
- And my sense of self and esteem is enhanced as a descendant of ancestors who came to America from the three ancient West African kingdoms of Ghana, Mali, and Songhai.
My sense of self-definition, self-worth, and self-determination are fulfilled as I connect with those of my global culture. As a result, I will more fearlessly and strongly embrace my heritage and stay connected to the cultural practices that have sustained my people for almost four hundred years in this society.
"In my life, I have found myself as a colored, a negro, a Black, an African American, and a person of color. This is my reflection as a colored girl." This phrase opens each essay in the series “Reflections of a Colored Girl” from Martha R. Bireda, Ph.D. being aired on WGCU FM. Dr. Bireda is a writer, lecturer, and living history performer with over 30 years' experience as a lecturer, consultant and trainer for issues related to race, class, and gender, working with educators, law enforcement, and business, and civic leaders. She also is director of the Blanchard House Museum of African American History and Culture of Charlotte County, in Punta Gorda, Florida. Bireda was born in Southwest Florida in 1945 but spent the first 10 years of her life in a small town in Western Virginia. Her family then moved back to Punta Gorda, where they have deep roots. This is one essay in her series. Read more essays here.
