I am the owner of this blog and it’s been 3 years since I started it, and when starting a blog like this brings along a lot of attention. It’s nothing that I cannot handle but there’s one thing that I must address. I am not segregating my race. I’ve been asked: “Why are you segregating a race and atheism?” 3 or so times on the Facebook page and once on here and it’s quite interesting. I have addressed this question before but it’s not doing any justice if it’s being drowned by the many posts on the Facebook page.
No way am I being racists or dividing atheism. Those who’ve asked this should try to understand what I mean by Black Atheists. Black Atheists means that there are not that many of us; if it is, they’re not coming out about it. It’s so rare to find another Black atheist that some people feel alone; I know I did. Even though as a whole, atheists are minority, it’s even more so clear among the African American community.
Being a Christian in a Black family of Baptists may not be any more different from a white family but I believe that Blacks have more to lose. I’ve lost friends to coming out about their atheism. They came out to their family, their family went to church and told the congregation, the congregation then told everyone else, and then that person end up being killed, banished, or they could no longer associate themselves with me.
My brother came out to our family about his atheism and they gasped in terror and then told him that he needs to read the bible more. Told him, that if he doesn’t change his mind, that he’ll be doomed to a life of anguish and misfortunes. My brother has since then contemplated suicide, and alienated himself from the few friends he had. They didn’t understand, either. Black Atheists means that those who are able to, those who are strong enough to be, to accept themselves who they are, will know that they are not alone. There are more of us than first realized. Every so often I come across someone saying, “I thought I was the only one, I’ve felt so alone and none of my friends of family understand! They just tell me to go read the bible”. Black Atheists is around for that reason.
This page may say Black Atheists, but I’m not discriminatory towards anyone who wants to join or take part. This blog, the Facebook page exists to help those who need empowerment. To see it as anything other than that just tells me how small-minded a person can be.
We’ll never get past segregating one another if this continues!
All I have to say is it’s been here for a long time and as long as there are humans on this earth, history books in the schools, or someone who only see things in black and white, there will be segregation.
Let’s just put it this way, BET (Black Entertainment Television), NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People), TheRoot.com, and the like; why do you think they exist? Just think about it and when you come up with an answer, leave a comment.
