What Does It Mean If Most Of My Friends Aren’t Black?

A friendly look at the benefits of diverse friendships

Photo by Nani Williams on Unsplash

I was that black girl with the rainbow coalition of friends. A literal mix of black, white, Asian, LGBTQIA+- all of it, all my school life.

As children, race is not seen as important, in fact I bet many of you, like me, thought you were clear. Clear from racism, sexism, all of the isms of the world. The greatest threat on my mind in the 90s was if Power Rangers would ever get canceled.

Now I see comments on YouTube about black women who can’t trust non-black women because the racial tension is so high and of course other important matters that I will not discuss here. To be honest, many black women feel some type of way befriending people of other races — much of it is for good reason. I understand.

In adulthood, the layers are peeled and your former beliefs shift because of what you see and hear.

I admit, that lately I have been reflecting more on the value of friendship and what truly matters. I don’t have many friends. I could go further and say I have no true friends. What I mean is that I do speak with people and I have close relationships with some, but when I think of true friendship, I…