blkaroculture

[blkaroculture]

[blkaroculture]

Rest in power, Anna Mae Robertson . . . 

One of the last surviving members of the legendary Six Triple Eight battalion has passed away at 101. (June 1, 2025)

At just 19, Robertson joined the all-Black women’s unit during WWII, defying racism and sexism to complete a mission no one else could: sorting 17 million pieces of mail in three months to reconnect U.S. troops with their loved ones.⁠ ⁠ She lived to see her unit awarded the Congressional Gold Medal this year, and she leaves behind a legacy of courage, service, and sisterhood that helped shape the story of Black women in America.⁠ ⁠May her memory be a blessing, and may her name never be forgotten.

[blkaroculture]

Charles Jackson French

[blkaroculture]

As a black aromantic, amatonormativity looks different to me in compared to white aromantics.

When looking back into history of amatonormative as well as how my black family perpatuates it, it really all boils down to the same old story: white people forces thing onto black folks so black folks adopt it to survive cause they didn’t have a choice but to.

This is especially why I roll my eyes when they mention alloromantics to be the bane of their existence because to me that includes black alloromantics. Majority of the conservatism the black community holds is because they had no choice but to. And the reason they had no choice but to is because of white people, which is also what they are. I think when white people are also oppressed, because they’re taught to consistently center themselves in every conversation, they use their personal experiences to paint it as the universal community experience. There’s a lack of self awareness and intersectionality that really can only be solved through more black aro voices empowering themselves in this community.

[blkaroculture]

being aroallo is lowkey so embarrassing. like wdym my sexuality is whore. why

[blkaroculture]

Peep the new banner <3

Also PSA for all you lurking white people here, there IS a reason I’m very strict about you NOT announcing your whiteness in my reblogs.

Every single time I see video about race, let’s say on tiktok, almost every white person in the comments is like “Yes, I’m sitting back and listening, listen to black people everybody. Pasty white people like me stay quiet <3” THAT’S NOT BEING QUIET… that’s doing the opposite actually…

If you wanted to truly sit back and listen, you would keep AWAY from the keyboard. Giving me a paragraph of how important it is for white people to step back and let black people speak in reblogs is, in fact, CENTERING YOURSELF. You’re being a white savior, we don’t need input on how important it is to listen to experiences from other people cause WE KNOW. Also, trying to tell me in reblogs whether or not you can interact instead of like… literally going to my page and looking through the pinned post… is just as annoying too. Im not gonna congratulate on how “careful” you’re being or give you special treatment. Im letting you mfs interact now, don’t make me change my mind.

[blkaroculture]

did you miss this at the top of post?

“Black queer solidarity” banners made by me. for black people only, cred not needed. xx

(Don’t reblog with “I’m white, but…” because frankly, I do not gaf!)

[blkaroculture]

Don’t reblog with “I’m white, but…” cause frankly, I do not gaf!

For a while I had felt that the word “aromantic” felt as if i was identifying myself with white people, and that I felt more comfortable calling myself a “black aromantic.” I think I understand why I feel this way now.

Blackness as a concept was created by white people to label us as their inferiors. Racializing really only exists for black folks and folks of other races as a comparison to the “ultimate version of human”, which is allegedly white people. Because white people have spread this superiority notion around, they essentially can just categorize themselves as simply being “normal” and therefore not really needing an additional racial descriptor when assigning labels and finding community. White people see themselves as innate leaders and the authorities on everything which extends to leading and dominating conversations on lesser know communities. This is the same criticism I have towards zines and how, even with it’s purpose to uplift marginalized communities, white people still managed to dominate those communities and parade their experiences as universal for that group. The history of the little magazines of the Harlem Renaissance consistently goes unmentioned despite it literally being in the Zine Archive’s History tab.

This also can explain my reluctance to actually engage with some of very few existing aromantic theory because, unless specified, it will almost always center white voices. The aromantic community’s, especially aroallos’, biggest challenge is dealing with invisibility and mislabelling. Yet, time and time again, black aromantics aren’t looked as authorities like white aromantics are. Sometimes, the increased visibility of asexuals is claimed to be a privilege for them because in order white people to truly be in control of the narrative they have to had told everyone that they’re superior first. They’re ancestors have to had forcibly become visible to those of other countries to show off their alleged “superiority.” In some ways, this could be true but only for white asexuals and even white aromantics as after their aspec discrimination they don’t have race to worry about like black aspecs do.

It’s not like I want to stop calling myself aromantic now, but I definitely know from now on I’ll be saying “aromantic” and think of only black people.

[blkaroculture]

idk im really tired of 15-17 year olds who have never interacted with the gay community irl and spend too much time on tiktok trying to act like the authority on all that is lgbt+ 

[blkaroculture]

I put that “don’t reblog with “im white, but…” warning it got so damn annoying

i was thinking of making a banner for my black aro but idk ill think abt it

'As I white ace' 'Speaking as a white ace' 'I'm not Black but' 'Not Black but I' 'I'm not a Black asexual but' 'I'm a white asexual but' 'I am white but' 'I'm not Black or ace but'

SHUT UP. Oh my god.

[blkaroculture]

Please remember and acknowledge that Sam Nordquist was BLACK. This is also an antiblack hate crime as well as a transphobic hate crime. Do not forget this. I’m only saying this as I haven’t seen anyone talk about this so far.

Rest in power, Sam.

[blkaroculture]

Thank you for tagging me <3

Im so sorry OP that your real life isn’t safe enough to express your true self. Im glad this online commumity has given you some peace 💚🤍🩶🤎🖤

Okay so this is my first time doing a post on here so this is mostly gonna be my own experience on being a non-black aromantic asexual in the African continent

This will be mostly scattered because I am.writing mostly in frustration of me generally not having a good pride month overall and needing a place to vent and see if im not the only one going crazy

I might be the only one of this or not hopefully but I mostly wanna share my experience because hoooooo boi

Let's start with the shit show

I didn't know i was aromantic until when I was 13 when I explored my sexuality because I was doing research on lgbt character for my book and the experiences while researching matched my own to a t

So for my childhood years I was mostly just a kid watching cartoons and living out my youth the best to my ability

However I didn't really like anyone Romantically

I thought i would be straight because of thr basically assumption that I....just was without examining it why though.

Ans it would trip me up that I didn't fall in love with anyone at all not even girls

In my tween mind I was obsessed with the tropes from movies about the nerd girl who falls in love with someone who get to see her for who she exactly is and I wanted thay for me

The thins is thought is that didn't translate into anything in real life

I remember one time I was in coding camp and I just used to stare at a boy who would sit a the other side hoping one day that he would stare at me back and out live story would begin

And when that didn't happen the question will be why didn't anyone fall in love e with me

When I was in boarding school i somehow resurrected this by telling a lie to my classmate that I had a boyfriend when I was there when they were talking about it and even then I mostly fantasised it

I guess i just wanted the fact of the romantic relationship of someone in love with me and holding me close

Even though as a romantic attraction there wasn't anyone specifically in mind for this at all

Fast forward some years, and while searching, I found the first labels I used, which was demisexual biromantic

And I stuck onto those for years until I turned fifteen when I realised I'm aegosexual instead

Now how does this fit into me being someone from West Africa

Simple

ABSOLUTE DUMPSTER HELLSCAPE

Not hell for me because of any internalized hatred surprising considering I live in a country where if you're not married, you're soically seen as weird or religiously not fulfilling your religious duty

But hell in the sense that because everyone has these expectations of me getting a husband and marrying and having kids

And I'm not having it at all

Im almost becoming a young adult now and im slowly realising that in some few years time in my 20s im going to start hearing when am I going to get married and even then they not waiting as they are already bashing my head in with cleaning like a proper lady to prepare for a husband

It's worse for me because I'm on only child so it's not like I can dump that duty on someone to take of it

And even i dont like the sound of doing that to anyone

So i have this cloud hanging over me since I turned in a young adult that now that I have will have to prepare to cook clean and be proper not for me but for a man

(Also I'm exploring being nonbinary and literally trying to see what type of nonbinsry I am sooo my parents basically assigning me all housework as a sign of being a girl really gums up my journey)

When I dont want to do that at all

Let me just make this clear

I will not marry a cis man

One because I'm aromantic so that is just impossible for me to do and two

I dont want to

I want to explore relationships with black women whether that be qprs or anything no romantic or other nonbinary black femmes

But I can't do that because I'm a closeted minor living ins a household that basically makes me feel ashamed for resting at times due to me not doing anything as they so put it

So I'm just stuck having a party in it for my own self soothing comfort until I can figure my escape plan to leave

I love the black aromantic community here on tumblr that I've seen examples being

@black-ace-culture-is

But I can't express that in real life because soo much of what my family has displayed is being a Nigerian cis woman is cook clean and provide for a man

(Keep in mind this is the major one I mostly see but I dont want to assume every Nigerian femme persons experience as they are so many like trans women and nonbinary who identify as femme that I simply won't want generalise this is just what is ee form my family)

Even though I dont want to do any of that

Let's not even talk about school boarding school experience

That one was so agonising because everyone around me was a a bunch of homophobic douchebags who acted like a bunch of immature children whenever they see a dick on screen and would gladly participate in the ritual of saying look how gay people suck

Thankfully I didn't get any arophobic attacks during this experience became I was so closeted I just made people use whatever assumption they had about me but that didn't mean it was me really

However that didn't stop the boiling rage I had whenever they insulted a woman who didn't marry or have children

Other from those two environments that

The only positive one was the UK college I'm trying to apply to where thankfully I went to so many aro meetups just to sit in the fact that there was a space that I can exist in and even then I had to leave early because I didn't want my dad suspecting anything where I was going

And even then the meetups where mostly white so I was still alone in being the only black person in the room

On the Internet I'm mostly a lurker here so i dont interact a whole lot but I am thanking God I found a aromsntic blogs that I can see and feel like I'm not alone especially with the black ace and aro culture ones that are up

But that dosent cure anything

Because in dreading the horrid question of when am I going to get married and I know how insistent my family can be in just blatantly making anything that is personally me invisible and just trying to make me straight in any way possible

And that makes me sick everytime

I've hesr som many horror stories of being raped her in nigeria to being abused by families and or generally just not having any love anymore onto

And it's agonising to me because I am already managing a conditional love as if not because I like it but for my own sanity living with parents who say they love me yet emotionally neglect and abuse whenever I display any negative emotions or dont fill expectations

So me being revealed im aromantic meaning no grandkids which will be painful for everyone involved

Even though I have cousins around and

I want my lineage to continue maybe not thorough pregnancy but hey at least with something

So i don't know

It hasn't been really nice for me but thay dosent me i hate being on the aromsntic and asexual spectrum

It's the world that's giving me shit for it and frankly it can kiss my nyansh and fuck off

.....

Anyway that my experience with being aromsntic i wanted to apply some research in here about being continental African asexual so this might be edited

But this is just my personal experience living with it

I leave the comment section with anyone to come.forwaard sharing their own experience being African and ace

Hope yall have a great month

And happy Juneteenth

[blkaroculture]

'I think white gay people feel cheated because they were born, in principle, in a society in which they were supposed to be safe. The anomaly because of their sexuality puts them in danger, unexpectedly. Their reaction seems to me in direct proportion to their sense of feeling cheated of the advantages which accrue to white people in a white society. There's an element, it has always seemed to me, a bewilderment and complaint. Now that may sound very harsh, but the gay world as such is no more prepared to accept black people than anywhere else in society.'

- James Baldwin, The Village Voice (1984)

[blkaroculture]

Ms. Juneteenth Denver, 1984

[blkaroculture]

happy juneteenth to every nigga whose ancestors built this fuck ass country. may their spirits give us the strength to knock over the pillars of bullshit that hold up this crumbling empire.

[blkaroculture]

Well!

So first, let's clear a common misconception: no, President Abraham Lincoln did not love Black people nor see them as human equals. At best he was centrist about it (though, even his implication that 'exceptional' Black men ought to vote got him assassinated).

"My paramount object in this struggle is to save the Union, and is not either to save or to destroy slavery. If I could save the Union without freeing any slave I would do, it, and if I could save it by freeing all the slaves I would do it; and if I could save it by freeing some and leaving others alone I would also do that. What I do about slavery, and the colored race, I do because I believe it helps to save the Union...I have here stated my purpose according to my view of official duty; and I intend no modification of my oft-expressed personal wish that all men everywhere could be free."

The "freeing of slaves" after the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863 was meant to kneecap the economic and military powers of the seceded South. Lettuce stop making a white savior figure out of Lincoln, or thinking that my people's shackles were unchained via anything other than desperate war strategy and extreme violence. Think on that, for a moment.

That being said!

But not everyone in Confederate territory would immediately be free. Even though the Emancipation Proclamation was made effective in 1863, it could not be implemented in places still under Confederate control. As a result, in the westernmost Confederate state of Texas, enslaved people would not be free until much later. Freedom finally came on June 19, 1865, when some 2,000 Union troops arrived in Galveston Bay, Texas. The army announced that the more than 250,000 enslaved black people in the state, were free by executive decree. This day came to be known as "Juneteenth," by the newly freed people in Texas.

Consider going through the Smithsonian website to learn about Juneteenth! Recognize why it's an actual day of freedom, versus July 4th and the independence of a select few.

[blkaroculture]

Happy Juneteenth Tumblr✊🏿✊🏾✊🏽✊🏼