Hang It Up: My Thoughts on Black Perfectionism and Respectability Politics

Hello, good people :) It's still Black History Month!

So, we're still celebrating by learning a thing or two about how the past has shaped the present and how we can use that knowledge for a healthier future.

Last week we spoke about the ways our community may have internalized some racial stigmas as a way to cope with oppression. This week, I want to continue that conversation but this time with a focus on black perfectionism (not to be confused with black excellence) and respectability politics. Black people have been using these concepts as a way to explain why certain black folks are treated one way, and others, another.

We've all heard the saying, "you have to work twice as hard and be twice as good, in order to receive half the recognition a white person would get," meaning that if black folks were anything less than perfect, we weren't worth the dirt we stood on.

We've also heard the argument that if you look and sound the part, you'll get the part! Assimilation into white American culture was made a goal that every black woman, man, and child was to aspire to and whether you didn't aspire to fit that mold or you just couldn't, didn't matter, you were treated poorly by those who shared the same skin color as you.

These requirements contributed to chronic stress already prevalent in in black communities. You were constantly on edge, worried about being a representative of your blackness even though you were never elected. The ideas behind being perfect and respectable became more about a proximity to whiteness than it was to uplift our communities.

If you weren't perfect, then you weren't good enough and if you weren't respectable, then nothing separated you from being just another n****r.

>Deep Breath<

It's bad for your health to constantly need to perform and there are better ways to exist within this system, especially in 2026, and that's by being your most authentic self.

In case no one has told you, you're allowed to give that performance a rest.

This isn't a post about simply being tired. It's about what comes immediately after you stop trying to be a perfect and respectable black person 24/7.

It's about your identity, your goals, your aspirations, needs, wants, and everything in-between being in alignment.

The process of rejooov is done by expanding your understanding of self through exploration and discovery. When you do finally give perfectionism and respectability a rest, I want you to learn who you are and to get into alignment.

Your own authenticity is the way.

Thanks for reading! Like, share, & tell me your thoughts below.

Be sure to check the rejooov collective out almost everywhere on socials:

IG - therejooovco & rejooovmove | TikTok - rejooovcothoughts | X - therejooovco | FB - the rejooov collective, LLC

Love & Light,

- Cina