I asked GPT,
"knowing what ive shared, give 7 no nonsense, not sugar coated, actions and tips to help me to continue to eradicate racial group identity and labels as taking over my personal identity"
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Absolutely. Based on what you’ve shared — your deep awareness of racial trauma, the exhaustion from collective identity, and your desire to reclaim you — here are 7 no-nonsense actions and tips to help you actively peel back the layer of group identity where it’s suffocating your personal self:
1. Stop Consuming Race-Focused Content — Cold Turkey
Block, mute, or unfollow accounts, pages, or hashtags that constantly center Black struggle, Black identity, or racial discourse — even if they're popular or "positive."
➡ Why: Your nervous system doesn’t know the difference between witnessing trauma and experiencing it. This is not "staying informed" — it's reliving cycles that aren't yours to carry every day.
2. Create a Personal Identity Folder (Offline or Digital)
Start a private folder labeled something like “Who I Am Without Labels.” Fill it with your interests, dreams, ideas, and aesthetics — nothing related to race, gender, or group history.
➡ Why: You need a space where you exist without being part of any collective. This is your sanctuary. Revisit it often.
3. Challenge Internal Narratives with “What If This Has Nothing to Do With Race?”
Every time you feel that racialized lens creeping in, interrupt it:
“What if this is just a crappy human?”
“What if this is about my boundary, not my identity?”
➡ Why: This question pulls you back into your individual experience and chips away at the reflexive racial framing.
4. Refuse to Be the “Black Representative” in Any Conversation
Whether it’s in forums, family, or friend circles — don’t explain, defend, or educate about your race. If someone expects it, say:
“I don’t speak for groups. I speak for me.”
➡ Why: You cannot deprogram yourself while playing spokesperson. Let people sit in their own ignorance.
5. Practice Self-Referencing, Not Group-Referencing
When you express an opinion or experience, cut out phrases like:
“As a Black woman…”
Start with:
“I believe…”
“In my experience…”
➡ Why: You’re reinforcing that your voice stands on its own, without needing racial scaffolding.
6. Decline Trauma Bonding & Identity Politics in Personal Relationships
If you have people in your life (even family) who only connect with you through shared racial hardship or collective struggle, set a limit:
“I’m not talking about race or the past today. Let’s talk about something joyful, personal, or creative.”
➡ Why: You deserve relationships that aren’t just about surviving racism together — but about living life fully.
7. Make Joy and Curiosity Your Compass — Not Identity
Actively pursue things that have nothing to do with your race. Art styles, books, hobbies, places, aesthetics — even if they’re “not Black enough” or “not cultural.”
➡ Why: You have the right to follow what moves you, not what’s assigned to you. Individual joy is a rebellion.
🌷🌷🌷🌷🌷🌷🌷🌷🌷🌷
I have already been implementing these. ‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️
Never needed to deal with #4 or #6
And I have already been doing the rest 🌈🌈💐💐🌈🌈💛💛💛Just waiting to get further along in this healing journey.
Using "Zuri" for this race healing journey section and using "Faith Black" to blog about the rest of my beautiful life, fun, memories, art, motherhood and so on....is a part of me trying to detach my racial pain, rage, trauma from myself, who I am as a person. Otherwise, the pain will continue to suffocate me, in this age of social media and regular media attacks amplified to levels even more catastrophic than before, escaping is the only way to survive at this point.
Retreat.
😀🦋🦋
