Black people who remind me of me

I was recently featured in the Community Contact, a paper for the Carribean Black community in Montreal. It was very flattering. Among other things they mentionned that it was unusual for a 27 year old Black guy to get a PhD in Biology. It hearkenned me back to memories of last Christmas. I was in a Hallmark store when an aquaintance of mine recognized me. He told me, "You know, I thought of you recently, I saw a movie..."

I knew where this was going, having seen I Am Legend starring Will Smith a few weeks earlier. He said, "The main character was a Biologist... Studying diseases and stuff. He fought zombies... He was also..." Here he hesitated, not certain of how to say what he had committed himself to saying. I nodded my head, encouragingly, "Yes... It's okay. He was Black. A Black Biologist just like me."

I'll tell you something; IMMEDIATELY after seeing I Am Legend I KNEW that someone would make the comparison. I wonder how many people in the world watched that movie and thought to themselves, "You know who's Black and is getting a PhD in Biology? That Black guy who's Black... Chris Gregg!"

Zombie genocide aside, I guess I am very much like Will Smith. Maybe with a slightly better physique. As a 27 year old black guy I've been compared to many black people most of whom are not like me at all aside from the fact that they're Black. When I went to China I have been compared to Michael Jordan, Will Smith... I guess it's not a bad thing that someone I hadn't seen in years thought of me immediately when he saw a black person in the field of Biology. Have I become the archetype for Black Biologists within the network of people who know me? If so... Awesome.

Let's think of other Black people who remind me of me.

Denzel Washington. Reason he reminds me of me: He's black.

Winston Zedmore from Ghostbusters. Reason he reminds me of me: He's black and he hunts ghosts.

Eddie Murphy from Coming to America. The main character in this motion picture is black.

Oprah is Black.

There are certainly others. Let's celebrate Black History month together by reflecting on Black people who remind you of me and the reasons.