Must We Black Label It In Order to Make It Ours?

There’s a strange pressure that’s crept into our culture—this need to slap the word “Black” onto everything just to make it valid, cultural, or seen. Black business. Black excellence. Black joy. Black brunch. I understand the intention. I do. But sometimes I find myself asking—do we really need to say it out loud every time to make it real?

I felt this way before the national rollback of DEI efforts, before certain states began treating diversity like a threat. Back when the word “inclusion” still made it to the mission statement without a footnote or fine print. And yet, now more than ever, I see how this conversation needs nuance—not just resistance.

Here’s the thing: over-labeling anything can narrow how it’s perceived. If I host a brilliant symposium on innovation and call it the “Black Innovation Summit,” many will instantly file it under “for them, not for me.” Not because they’re racist—but because that one word, Black, often acts like a cultural border. Suddenly it’s not about the content, it’s about the category.

And that’s the trap.

Sometimes, in trying to affirm ourselves, we unintentionally separate ourselves. We give systems an easy excuse to box us in—again.

I’m not saying abandon identity. Never that. I’m saying, sometimes the most powerful thing you can do… is just do it.

Want to make a film that centers Black love? Then write it, cast it, and shoot it with all the rhythm and soul you were born with. But don’t feel obligated to stamp “Black Love” in bold letters across every poster. Let the art speak for itself. Let the quality be the culture. Let the excellence be the evidence.

Because when we label everything, we risk others seeing only the label.

And yes—I hear the counterargument. “But LaDonna, we have to call it Black because they won’t know it’s for us.” And that’s where I offer this thought: what if we build with such brilliance and clarity that no one can deny who’s behind it—even when we don’t say it? What if not labeling it becomes the power move?

Now, let me be clear—this isn’t about hiding. This is about strategy.

We’re in a new landscape. DEI programs are under attack. Budgets are disappearing. The buzzwords that once opened doors are being retired, redefined, or outright rejected. So how do we win in a game where the rules keep changing?

We outsmart it.

We outwork it.

We out-create it.

And we stop needing permission to exist.

My goal is to find a path forward that still uplifts our people, still centers our culture, but doesn’t rely on the labels to make it legitimate. We’re already legitimate. We’re already the culture. We don’t have to prove that. We just have to keep building—loudly, boldly, brilliantly.

So no, I won’t call every project “Black” just to signal its worth.

I’ll make it worth watching. Worth showing up for. Worth remembering.

And if someone wants to know who made it?

Well… they’ll know. Trust me, they’ll know.

“If you want to make it Black, just do it—without labeling it.”
-LaDonna Raeh