After two semesters of school it is finally summer vacation! It’s time to relax, go out in the sun, and swim. Yes, black people actually like to swim. Here are 5 myths you probably believed about black people and summer, debunked!
1. We Are Afraid Of The Sun
Sorry White Twitter, we’re not vampires. We don’t cower in the shade of trees and roofs when the sun comes out. Garlic doesn’t hurt us and neither does the sun. Heck, if we were so afraid of the sun how do you think we got all this beautiful melanin that you all lack? The idea that black people don’t like the sun out of fear of ‘getting darker’ is ridiculous and it comes from the idea that being lighter (or whiter) is better. We do not care about getting darker because being darker than you is what makes us special. In fact, we spend more time outside having family barbecues and church picnics than you do on the beach laying around trying to catch a tan. We even wear sunscreen to protect our skin, just like you, so stop laughing like its the biggest joke in the world. Skin cancer hurts everyone– not just white people.
2. Black People Can’t Swim
How many hours a day do black people spend at the pool during the summer? Who knows. We’re there from the time it opens till the time it closes. There are more community center pools in predominantly black neighborhoods than there are tanning booths in predominantly white ones. Contrary to those popular Vines, many of us do know how to swim, and if we don’t it’s not something to joke about. Considering the fact that during segregation people would throw acid into swimming pools frequented by black people (if we were allowed to enter a pool in the first place), it’s amazing any of us dare to get in the water now. And for those who do? We take pride in it not because we’re better than our counterparts, but because we’ve overcome an obstacle only meant to hold us back.
3. Black Women Hate Getting Their Hair Wet
In some ways, this is true. Black women spend a lot of time getting their hair done. It’s not out of vanity but simply because our hair takes a long time to style. If you see a black woman with a fresh weave, 9/10 she won’t want to get her hair wet. Would you? Spending $200-$300 on your hair just to have it ruined isn’t going to make anybody’s summer fun. However, we’re not going to let it ruin our trips to the pool! Some of us get braids, some of us just leave our hair alone because we’re going to be at the pool a lot. If we’re not getting our hair wet, it’s either because it just got done or, the chlorine from the pool takes a toll on even our absorbent locks, and no amount of rehydrating shampoo can fix that. Not to mention the people at the pool who line up to grab at our hair when they see that it looks ‘different’ when wet. Our hair needs a break– and so do these myths.
4. We Attract Flies
This myth here is one of the worst ones, not because it’s hurtful but because it’s just stupid. It could just be a southern saying that old, wrinkly white ladies toss around when they see black kids playing outside, but who cares. It needs to go. The only things that attract flies are food, trash, and things that stink. Black people are neither of those things. We don’t attract flies, but we have millions of ways to get rid of them! In fact, they’re one of the things most black people (especially southerners) hate about the summer. Our mothers are constantly yelling for us to stop running in and out of the house so we won’t let flies in. Our grandmothers have a colorful assortment of fly swatters, and our aunts have bags of wet pennies hung up over the door frames to keep them out. We attract flies? Oh no, we’re the best exterminators you’ll ever find.
5. Chicken And Watermelon= Black People’s Summer
Are y’all kidding? Once again this myth goes back to the days when black people were drawn as big nosed, dark as night characters with smiling faces and hands holding watermelons. That’s also around the time when having a mammy was considered acceptable. There is one thing I’ve always wondered, and that’s why watermelon? Chicken I understand but watermelon is a summer staple for everyone (honestly, just check Pinterest). It just shows that these myths have always been pointless. If we’re eating chicken and watermelons all day then white people are all eating unseasoned barbecue and mayonnaise potato salad. Not all blacks people like chicken (or meat at all) and not only black people love watermelon.
So there you have it folks, you now know what’s real and what isn’t. And if you don’t, I advise you not to ask. Those types of questions don’t go over too well, and with good reason. Let this article be your guide to understand the lives of black people in the summer. Stop spreading lies and rumors and attempt to learn the truth for once. Have a great summer!
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