In today's society, especially America, there are many strong influences at play in the public. As certain subjects have become less taboo to discuss, race has been a conversation that still makes some people uneasy to this day. However, as a result of people pushing the conversation of race into the focal point of American issues, many have exposed themselves as willfully ignorant to this very important problem. Some try and justify the actions of those who attack people of color, while others simply refuse to accept factual circumstances. In addition to this, there is a cancerous theme of violence and prejudice in many facets of social interaction; even though many of us seem aware of this, we do nothing about it in reality because we are not directly affected.
This isn't some newfound realization, of course; for most people of color, we become starkly aware of the depravity of the world quickly. Many of us were introduced to this point of view at young ages: we experiences attacks based solely on our skin color, we are bullied for physical traits that will be praised in White people in the same breath, and we are shown consistently in the media that the consensus on Black lives is that they are worth less than the lives of our White counterparts. This is quite a taxing experience, but I believe nobody has suffered or suffers more than the Black Woman.
The Black Woman's relationship with the world, although not a product of her own choices, has never seemed to be a positive one, and it shows in and throughout American history. To shortly summarize their presence in early America, they were kidnapped, imprisoned and shipped to a new land they knew nothing of. After that, they had to watch Black men, their protectors, be ripped apart (sometimes literally) by abusive and depraved White slave owners. These same slave owners separated these women from their children, raped them, would bear children with them, and still told these women that they had no value to this world.
This is only speaking in terms of the Black Woman's time in slavery, and I know I did not do it justice with such a short description, but it is definitely not difficult to see how these circumstances have shaped the face of American race relations today. Even the Black Man as a majority relegates the Black Woman below them instead of perceiving them as worthy equal partners. I have heard many stories of Black Men just like me hurling insults and inciting violence on Black Women for simply not wanting to be bothered. However, despite all these despicable and undeserved circumstances that they endured, Black Women to me are the greatest entity.
I came from a family that was not matriarchal in stature, and I can accept that my younger self did not value Black women the way that I should have. Although I held a dismissive and misogynistic view of Black women's struggles for most of my life, the point of view that I gained when I was 18 shows me everyday that there should NEVER be a reason to take Black women for granted. Black women have always been there for me; they fought and protested for me when my brothers were being gunned down in the street and they are still the first to hit the streets when it (sadly) happens again; they fed me when I wasn't able to get food of my own; they loved and supported me through my darkest moments. I can't say that anyone else was there for me because all of my friends who weren't Black always went missing when it was time to discuss race or when my color was the reason I was being attacked. This isn't to say that they won't be there in the future; they just never have been before.
Black Women have always supported me, and with my improved perspective, that's really all I want to do for them. It hasn't been a simple path, and at times I've had to step back and examine myself and my actions (which I don't believe anyone easily does). But I'm getting there. I want to encourage all Black Men around me to start rethinking how they perceive the Black Woman, too. I know that it isn't an easy thing to just start doing; I've stumbled in my words and actions and still do sometimes now, but that's why I'm thankful to have my Black Women guiding me and correcting my steps when needed. Sometimes it doesn't even make sense at first because I've had to reexamine my mindset that for most of my life was predicated on patriarchal standards. It is very much needed, though; if we are to thrive as a collective, we must reestablish our connections to each other and start taking care of each other.
