Question: what does it mean to be Black, Strong and Independent?
I understand the Black element. I have many years of experience and t-shirts to prove it.
An issue I’ve come to observe regularly within our community is realized in that, by way of hubris, we feel like we must do things on our own to prove a point. But, to who and why? Why is it worn proudly as a badge of honor? It’s all good until we hit a wall, at which point pride kicks in and will not allow us to ask for help.
When I hear ‘strong’, I associate the word and the feelings it inspires with masculine energy, which is the opposite of what men are attracted to. Masculine energy coincides with logical thinking, direction, order and structure. The main propellant of masculine energy is purpose. On the other hand, feminine energy is associated with intuition, nurturing, flow and creativity, with the main driving forces being feelings and emotions. Imagine bringing those powerful energies together with passion, and producing children in our likeness. This is what the world is waiting for, what the oppressors fear.
Ladies, help me out, serious question: Where does your strength lie? Is it in raising children as a single parent? Because 85% of people locked up in prison come from single mother homes. Is it working to have your own stuff so that you do not have to answer to anyone? This voids any protection for you and your children. One out of every four children in this country are being molested, many others are coming up missing and some being killed on the streets.
If you are physically beautiful and unprotected, the dangers are all the more prevalent for you. Is your strength being able to stand up to a man with toxic energy? This way of thinking nullifies the best of what a woman and mother is supposed to be in her life and to a family: loving, encouraging and nurturing.
It was Naomi Weisstein, neuroscientist, (white woman) that started the feminist movement back in 1971. She sketched an article, now-classic paper Psychology constructs the female. It was Naomi Weisstein to initiate this radical feminist tradition that Black women has psychologically embraced and modeled as a badge of honor.
When I hear ‘independence’, it makes me feel you don’t need help from anyone, specifically men. And when help is rendered non-essential, it goes unappreciated and is received with ulterior motives. This is only my perception. How is that possible when it is men who built the house you are in, the car you are driving, the road you are driving on, etc.? At what point, starting from birth, did you decide that you don’t need help from anyone? Being alone is not natural. No one achieves anything great solitarily beyond failure.
Does anybody genuinely want to be alone, or do we block our own paths to healthy and fulfilling relationships? I do understand that we are all damaged from the 400 plus years of oppression, giving us false prophets to follow. And I believe, to a degree, that we all are suffering from PTSD, some more than others. In times such as these we should be coming together, not encouraging independence. It is not an individual effort. Reach one teach one.
We need each other more than ever and our kids need us to get it right. The success of marriage has declined approximately 50% since the 60s. It is predicted to be obsolete in the next decade. Imagine a world wherein everyone is independently chasing the bag. 1 Timothy 6:10; For the lover of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. This article is intended as a question, not an attack, in hopes of producing profound and solution based dialogue.
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