Growing up, I was taught of the stereotypes against black people, a lot of things were seen as “ghetto” and if I acted a certain way or presented myself a certain way, then I could be seen as the “angry/aggressive black man”, the “scary black man”, the “loud black person” etc. It hurt then me to hear that that is how I can be perceived, because I knew in my heart that was not who I was. And so, I began overcompensating by never wearing certain things, such as durags, never getting cornrows/twists/other protective styles, and even policing how I spoke/walked/acted in general. I would say that at least some of these things have begun to change once I started college. One example is how my relationship with a durag has changed entirely. My mom, to this day, does not like when I wear them outside of the house because she sees them as “ghetto”, and that used to affect my perception of them. But, currently, I do find them nice to wear, for practical and stylistic reasons. Another example is my speech patterns. I am a naturally loud person with a resonant voice that carries to some degree without trying. But when I didn’t want to be seen as the stereotypical “loud black person”, I would either remain relatively quiet, or speak in a small voice that is not only softer, but higher in pitch, so I was also less likely to be seen as aggressive. Nowadays, that type of behavior only happens when I’m meeting new people, or simply surrounded by strangers (hence why I don’t talk much in class, but I’m working on it). But I am glad to say that once I get comfortable around people, I can come out of the mask I made for impression management and just be myself.
Unruly Bodies 
This reminds me of how Dr.Kate was mentioning Serena Williams having to always compose herself differently due to fear of being perceived as an “angry black woman”. Its absolutely atrocious that black people such as yourself have to face such stereotypes, yet white people, or even other people of color do not face the same consequences to having natural human feelings. I am so sorry you had to go through this :c. But I am glad you feel more comfortable now!
This is super relatable as another Black person and especially someone who was raised as a woman. Black women are “loud”, “ghetto”, and just automatically negative. I think that the best thing all of us can do is undo the work to make these things seem negative, so I’m happy that you’re embracing the negativity and making it your own.
This makes me instantly think about Ebonics/African American Vernacular English. It is very comforting and natural to be able to communicate in a way that is not the norm but have those apart of your culture understand you. Many of us use this dialect in our everyday conversations with friends and family. During my daily communication, others outside of my culture may perceive me as someone who sometimes speaks broken English and does not know correct grammar. It sucks that anything outside of what the white man perceives as correct grammar is deemed incorrect, sloppy, and however else it is often negatively described as. Even as it is now described as African American Vernacular English instead of Ebonics, people still don’t accept it.