Respect the Black Woman

*The most disrespected person in America is the Black woman.

-Malcom X

The anger I feel when I am disrespected seeps past this life time into another from generations ago. The sadness I feel is the sadness of not just my own. The pain I feel is the collective pain of us all. There hasn't been a time in this country's history when the disrespect of the Black women hasn't been justified by the stereotypical characteristics attributed to us. We are defined and named as attitude, criminal, promiscuous, and most frequently, angry.

For years, nothing could be done. We could only endure as we were enslaved, raped, beaten, killed and insulted. In this time as we continue to fight for equality, it is hard to not be discouraged the moment we fall victim to disrespect and nothing is done. Society sits quietly while recognizing an injustice. We look around for the appropriate consequences to take effect or even just someone to speak up on our behalf. Instead we hear excuses. The justifications we are given is a result of the supposed track record we have of displaying an attitude, our criminal nature and being angry all the time.

How long must we continue to suffer? We can only hope our granddaughters will not have to suffer as our grandmothers did.

As we continue to express our displeasure and show our intolerance for the disrespect of the Black woman,we must also work to correct the false narrative assigned to us and must do it boldly. It is our collective duty to define and name for ourselves.

The next time someone asks me why I walk around angry like the world owes me something, I will not hesitate to reply with "because I have every right to be and I am owed RESPECT".

*An excerpt from the Malcom X speech "Who Taught you to Hate Yourself?"

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