Being Black- My Choice

"If I could have chosen my skin color, I would have been Black..."- Jahman Blessed

If you're a fan of Afro influenced music on SL you've probably run into Jahman Blessed spinning the tunes at various nightclubs on the club circuit. As a highly sought after DJ in SL, he'll wave, dance and play your favorite requests from his personal collection of soul-inspired music.

His thick multi-colored dreads hang well below his shoulders. His creamy dark skin seems to shine beneath the club lights. What you can't tell by looking at him is the eery fact that in real life Jahman Blessed looks nothing like the man in the picture. His real skin is as pale as the average caucasion, but Jahman will not claim to be white.

On the very day that I catch up with him for a brief interview, Jahman says he has just experienced his first bout of racism on SL.

During a set as a DJ at one of the clubs he plays for, a club patron called him a n****. The club patron and was immediately banned by the club owner.

"I felt very angry about it," Jahman explains. "Inside we all have the same color. It shouldn't matter whether my skin is Black or white on the outside. Mama Africa is the mother of the human race and I care for my parents. All kinds of good music has their roots in Africa."

A 52-year-old man from Brazil, Jahman has had a healthy lifetime of connecting with his African roots.

"Growing up, most of my friends were Black," Jahman says. As an adult in real life and SL he often encounters narrow minded people who are conditioned to believe that Black people are inferior.

"When I meet a very discriminative person, I will often ask them, 'What will you do if you reach to your God before death and realize that he is Black?'"

Jahman counters the above statement by stating that he does not believe that God is Black.

"God has no color, but color has love. I only said that to give the person something to think about."

From the various shades of coa coa complected women to the unique styles of dress that represent the Afro-influenced lifestyle, Jahman is fascinated by it all.

"I didn't get the chance to be able to choose my skin color," Jahman explains. "On SL, I can. If I could have chosen my skin color, I would have been Black."