Negro Geography is a game I don’t play particularly well.  I think I missed the Jack and Jill meeting where the rules were explained.

In a word, I moved from the black ghetto to an (almost) all white suburb — and missed the rules meeting.

From what I gather, Negro Geography is this absolutely dreadful buppie game that one plays with middle class blacks.  Admittedly, I don’t get out much, so this was my first time playing after three years in Los Angeles.

"What do you do?"

"Where did you go to school?"

"Do you know the _____ (insert your favorite, African-American, US Congressman, Judge, or Civil Rights Leader here) family?  No?  They’re my cousin’s, son’s godparents — good family."

For a minute there during the interrogation, I felt like I was on the east coast, but I digress.

Now, as a good player, I believe I’m supposed to ask the same questions.  But, admittedly, I’m a little self-centered, and don’t really care about those good Jack and Jill, Boule, Greek loving families — they’re not mine.

Delta? No?  No matter what, I couldn’t be pinned down.

No, what I really wanted to say when this started was — "Girl, I won’t play this game — my family are sharecroppers from Mississippi."  But, I was trying to be nice — I’ve toned down my rhetoric.  Can’t you tell?

(more…)