Angry Black Woman

“I will not have my life narrowed down. I will not bow down to somebody else’s whim or to someone else’s ignorance.” – bell hooks

I was listening to an interview on the Breakfast Club with the music producer Pharrell Williams. If you are not familiar with whom he is, he made one of the best songs ever called Happy. He recently helped produced a movie called Hidden Figures that is based on the untold story of Katherine G. Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan, and Mary Jackson. The three women were valuable assets to the launching of astronaut John Glenn into orbit. If they were not part of this mission John Glenn wouldn’t have made it to the moon. They were all intelligent women and changed the course of how America and other countries view women today, especially black women.

I’m really excited about seeing this movie and I feel it is time for stories like these to be told on a platform for everyone to see.  I’m also excited that black women are being represented in a way where we don’t have to have all of our clothes off or have to perform a song. Nothing wrong with these representations, well maybe one, but to be honest I am bored with how I and other women in my culture are viewed and mostly represented. We tend to sometimes have to take the good with the bad.  There have been some winning moves that have transpired by black women such as the new series Insecure created and co-written by Issa Rae that has had major success on a major cable network which is well, pretty MAJOR.

The interview got me to thinking about how great it is for me to be a black woman today. You see my journey as a black woman in America has had its ups and downs, but I always have found within myself to love my looks, skin color, hair etc. no matter what. There have been times where people asked the infamous question of what am I? I tend to give them a blank look at first and then I proceed to tell them I’m black. Then they proceed to tell me that they didn’t mean any harm by it, I just have beautiful features and blah blah blah. This post is not to bash other cultures, but it is all personal experience.  In a way it makes me feel like strange fruit because people admire it, but don’t really want to know what the taste is because of how it looks. 

"Defining myself, as opposed to being defined by other, is one of the most difficult challenges I face.” – Carol Moseley-Braun

I feel that black women are some of the most misunderstood women because there are so many layers and elements that come with us. There are so many personalities and looks as well as skills we multitask flawlessly. Even with all of these great things that I as well as other can bring to the table, I still feel a slight side eye that will always take place amongst my peers. There’s always an extra effort that will have to be put into my greeting with others, or my assignment that’s maybe due for work. We are either very intelligent or really ghetto with no in between. There are certain feelings and topics that society has made us feel we have to hide or just not talk about at all.

The song Don’t Touch My Hair by Solange was so liberating for me because sometimes people don’t really understand it’s annoying when someone wants to touch your hair. When you feel it’s a normal hairstyle for you, but the person makes a big deal of it. Don’t get me wrong there is nothing wrong with compliments and sometimes I liked to be acknowledged for being different. At the same time the emphasis put on certain things that make me the woman I am are a little bit too much. I have learned to build a thick skin, be more confident, and not take these things too personal.

All of this has made me realize I wouldn’t change my ethnicity for any other one in the world. I find pride in being a black woman no matter how we may be represented in television, movies, music, etc. I don’t have to identify myself as someone else’s opinion because I know what I bring to the table. I am beautiful, intelligent, gentle, kind, sweet, funny, and way more. No color makes me less or more than anyone else. 

If you are a black woman reading this blog post, I hope you found some truth in this. Us black women don’t have to be hidden figures like the women were in the movie. We can shine our lights so bright that they won’t have a choice, but to put us at the forefront like everyone else. Thank God that I have this creative space to invite you in and help you get a better understanding of me, a black woman. Go see and support the movie Hidden Figures when it comes out!!!!

“Sometimes, I feel discriminated against, but it does not make me angry. It merely astonishes me. How can any deny themselves the pleasure of my company? It’s beyond me.” – Zora Neale Hurston