Imaginary Conversations and Random Thoughts

Ok I mentioned Miss Straight last time. She got her nickname because she often says things straight out that other people might be reluctant to say. Not because she’s wrong or crazy, but because of the PC times we live in, especially in California. But maybe she has special privileges because of her race that allows her to say things I can’t.

So Little General, Neighbor Lady, Miss Tori, Miss Straight and I had a group work day recently. The conversations meandered, as they do, leading to a discussion of transfer to a new branch office opening in town, then to moving out of town, then out of state, then to California Black. Miss Straight is African American, with a medium level of darkness. She is a single mom with two mid-teen kids, a boy and a girl. They took a trip to visit relatives in Texas this past summer that opened their eyes.

Miss Straight said at our recent group day that she has given up on dating or marrying again. Unless she moves to Texas. Or more specifically, unless she moves out of California. You see, in Texas, she was pleasantly surprised by the attention she got from African American males. Her daughter was extremely pleasantly surprised by the interest she got from boys her age. Extremely surprised for the daughter because she gets zero attention from boys at her school and in her neighborhood. Miss Straight is an attractive woman, and her daughter is good looking too. The problem? Miss Straight is not light enough complected, and her daughter has even darker skin. So how does this tie in to the title?

Let me take you back a year. This same group went to an out of town training session at which other people from other offices were also in attendance. There was an African American gentleman at this training session who was good looking, according to Miss Straight. I guess she put out the vibe to him, or just chatted with him or whatever, and the result was not positive. She discussed this with an African American woman at the training who also happened to be from the guy’s office. This woman called him a California Black.

California Blacks are black men in California. These men will not date African American women. Or if they do, the woman in question has to be very light skinned. They seem to prefer Hispanic, asian, or even white women. The reason Miss Straight said she might move to Texas is because African American men there will actually date African American women. And at the rate her daughter is going, she might never get a date until she’s out of high school, or out of California altogether.

Until a couple of days ago, I had never heard this term. Could it just be BS from a couple of bitter women? How should I know, but the fact that there’s a term for it tells me that this isn’t an isolated incident. So enlighten me. How widespread is this thing? And why would any man cut himself off from a beautiful woman just because of her skin color?

Thanks to all the hysteria over the election, I'm sure no one will read this and go crazy