Reflective Essay: How Geography Happens To Black People

Some people are never afforded the opportunity to have someone share a thought that is so profound, it changes the trajectory of their life. Not due to lack of interaction in receiving a message such as this. On the contrary, philosophical wisdom exists everywhere, but only for those willing to receive the message. Indeed, I experienced one of these moments during a casual conversation with my thought-mentor Dr. Kimberly Brown. We were discussing why I had not elected to declare a major and how she could guide me towards a decision. Then, in this moment of boundless examination, when I hinted at my growing love of space she said, “Well, you know April, geography happens to black people.” My soul was immediately frozen, captured by the revelation
I was so struck by Dr. Brown’s statement, that I use it as an academic compass to examine the ways in which I study black geographies, while articulating their significance. Especially with the rise of recent academic discourse that concentrates on the intersectionality of black identity. Often, when scholars investigate the complexities of identity, the focus is directed towards race, gender, sexual orientation, class, age, mental or physical illness, religion or disability. Each of these aspects of social identity, help to better understand individual experiences of oppression and dominance-hierarchy in society, over collective assumptions that structural discrimination is universal and felt in the same ways by all people of color. Although this framework is a momentous paradigm in academic contexts, it neglects to incorporate the significance of placed-based identity. Particularly, how space constructs social identity and the ways in which local dominate systems impact black individual and collective selves. When scholars attempt to understand structural racism and individual agency, “the where” can alter how we cognize environmental influences on social interaction. Further, space acts as a social construct in tandem with other social constructions that have been used against the black body. Therefore, “the where” becomes crucial to recognizing how space exists within societal hierarchies, perpetuating inequality across various