Why I Revere Black Women and You Should TOO-A Cry for Black Women by some White Bitch
Black women should be revered, they should have their own month. It was a woman who said “Nah” on the bus and before Rosa there was Billy Holiday who had to have a dog with her at all times or she would get harassed, put in jail, so she could not sing “Strange Fruit” a undeniably desperate and necessary cry for the hangings and the slaughtering to cease. And before that was Sojourner Truth, who I admire so much, as she went up against the American States Government and got her children out of slavery and brought them home to her. She also owned her own home in the 1800s which women just were not allowed to do, yet she persisted, she knew what was right and she used the law to her advantage. Women in general have something that makes you stop, a signature in their hips, their sway, but when a Black woman uses that power so rich and often so penetrating it will make anyone stop and act right. And these are just the women who had their story written down and recorded. But what about all the stories never written down? What about all the Black women who are our neighbors, our child care providers, our grocery store clerks, our lawyers our congresswomen, our church leaders all of who kept persisting.
Someone said to me the other day “If you think about it, all African-Americans are a product of rape”. The words spoken jarred me, shook me.
So as it stands today Black people in the U.S. have been ‘free’ since the ratification of the thirteenth amendment, and in that ‘freedom’ they have experienced systematic annihilation by the US government. Criminalizing drugs, making Section 8 requirements that a man who has been incarcerated cannot stay in Section 8 housing-that still exist today. Then there are Sundowner towns that still exist today, drinking fountains never removed. The entire nucleus of the Black family has been attempted to be smashed by our United States government. Lets not forget the crack epidemic that the CIA tried to pin on one man Freeway Rick Ross, then there was Rodney King, and gang wars and the mass incarceration of black males was in its height in the 1980s with 10% of the population incarcerated and of that 10%, 98% of them were Black Males, but this all still goes on today.
And while we all know the history and no one likes to recall and remember all of this systematic, planned hate that has gone on for over 400 years, and still continues, there is one thing that stands out to me that is undeniable.
The strength Black women possess is fierce and should be celebrated.
Black families in America still to this day and will continue too, withstand and persist, despite planned cultural genocide proliferated upon them. And from that pressure they made diamonds but all that pressure has to erupt somewhere. All that pressure has to release.
Thank you Black women in America for your unbelievable fight and your stunning ability to not just survive but thrive and allow many men and women who you raised thrive too. You did not blame men for their absence, you did not complain that you could not afford human necessities, you created them out of nothing. Your stance and undeniable humanness is something to be revered, to be honored.
Black people have amazing food, they have fun, they laugh, they welcome everyone and no one knows what time anyone eats you come when you can and there is always a plate. As usual the spirit of the American Black family shines through, they have an urgency to enjoy each moment because you literally never know if someone is going to get picked up just walking and have some crime pinned on them and you may not see that person for 1–30 years depending on where you are in American, what the charges are and if you can afford an attorney.
Black Americans have kept their families together the best they can and throughout time they make music, and art, and write amazing novels, and poetry, and they marched and they protested and I attribute nearly all of that success to the black women who has shouldered all the things that have removed Black men from the family unit. They have kept traditions with food, and gatherings and they have stayed true to their roots. They have been raising not just their own children but white children as well for half a century.
And this whole time they have done this with a poetic presence. They have been more like beautiful statuesque pillars in their communities and anyplace they go. They have done this with nothing but the determination and the dedication and constant persistence you can only find in a Black woman.
And in their honor I would also make my own cry for Black women. Violence against black women is not getting better, Black women in their 30s going to prison in on the rise, while Black men is on the decline. Black women are often in domestic violent relationships. The stats say 40% of black women are either in or have been in a violent relationship. The stats also say black women are 2.5x more likely to be killed by a husband or lover and this is only numbers being reported.
“The reasons Black women suffer disproportionately from abuse are complex. Racism and sexism are two of the biggest obstacles that Black women in America face. But because many Black women and men believe racism is a bigger issue than sexism, Black women tend to feel obligated to put racial issues ahead of sex-based issues. For Black women, a strong sense of cultural affinity and loyalty to community and race renders many of us silent, so our stories often go untold. One of the biggest related impediments is our hesitation in trusting the police or the justice system. As Black people, we don’t always feel comfortable surrendering “our own” to the treatment of a racially biased police state and as women, we don’t always feel safe calling police officers who may harm us instead of helping us. And when we do speak out or seek help, we too often experience backlash from members of our communities who believe we are airing out dirty laundry and making ourselves look bad in front of White people”. https://www.blackburncenter.org/post/2020/02/26/black-women-domestic-violence
“Significantly, drug offenses account for the 800% increase in the rate of female incarceration over the past three decades. Notably, however, women’s drug use has not increased in the last thirty years — only their rates of incarceration. In fact, women’s incarceration rate for drug offenses now surpasses that of men. The Bureau of Justice Statistics reported in 2014 that at the state level, 25% of incarcerated women were serving time for drug offenses compared to 15% of incarcerated men. Of these women, African Americans are statistically overrepresented.
For example, the U.S. Department of Justice reports that the rate of incarceration for Black women is 113 per 100,000, more than twice that of White females (51 per 100,000). The data is even more troublesome for young Black women in their late teens and early adulthood as they are five times more likely to be incarcerated than their White counterparts. And despite comprising roughly 6% of the U.S. population, Black women make up 22% of women’s incarcerated population”. https://www.justsecurity.org/71509/the-new-jane-crow-womens-mass-incarceration/
So in support of Black women I want to encourage you to know your worth and that you are revered by many who unfortunately don't tell you thank you. So I am saying thank you! And you don't deserve to be beaten, to be lashed out on, to be the release of that pressure cooker. You deserve to be safe and cared for, not by just your husbands or lovers, but by society as well.
So I am going to step up as a human and as a woman and I am going to support Black women more. I am going to offer my support to community forums and churches so that women can leave their children with someone safe so they can get their nails or hair done, or go out with friends or enjoy the sunshine on an afternoon or go to a college course or the library. I am going to offer myself as a conduit to navigate the legal system and try to help women who want to get away from their abusers. No one deserves to be treated this way, and we need to make a LOUD CRY For abuse to cease in all families but especially Black families. We need to change this narrative as a collective and support these strong, amazing human beings and stop pretending this does not exist. We need not worry as much how this came to occur in our society, its pretty obvious by history, but we need to fix this huge ailment that keeping our mouths shut just exacerbates. We need to stop turning a blind eye to violence in our society and help everyone heal.
I want to offer myself as a way to heal, as a support and as a friend. I want to be there for women in who need support more than ever and help tell their story. We often have to be a voice for those ignored or unheard.
I know I may get some backlash from this, that I am sticking my nose where it does not belong and that I have no idea what it is like. And that is true, I don't know and will never know what it is like to be a Black woman. But I do know what it is like to be marginalized, to be ignored and forgotten, to be pushed aside. And I believe in equality for all human beings. I believe in telling our stories to heal. I believe in being a voice for those who cant use theirs, due, to society abandoning them.
So I make this cry for human beings who deserve to have support and need people to fight for them. In this instance I am asking for you to reach out to each other, to people who do care and maybe highlighting this on a national forum will start the conversations that help healing to begin. When we all ignore this and do nothing that is still an act, its still a choice.
I choose to be in support of my fellow human beings and not brush this under the rug anymore.
If you are a Black woman experiencing violence in a relationship: Here are some resources:
https://www.blackburncenter.org/
Until Next Time…..
