What is a “black girl voice?” As an educated woman of color I take pride in being articulate. On the other hand, I do like to speak using colloquialisms. Why is it, that if I start using slang, people see it as a whole new type of person coming from me? I am a black female, so doesn’t that mean that every time I open my mouth I’m using my black girl voice? How is it that when I speak with articulation and sophistication it seems as if I am no longer a person of color? Meeting educated black people should not be a surprise to anyone anymore. Education is a right that we should all be allowed, but for some reason it is still a privilege that only some are afforded. As a black woman in America it is not expected of me to have the type of goals that I have; people are shocked when I tell them that I have plans to obtain my PhD.

Unfortunately, we live in a world and a time that does not support me the way that it should. Women in general can have a hard time finding their way in the job market and have been fighting hard to get something as important as equal pay for the same job as a man. As a black woman, I may have a hard time getting a job in a nice place where they may not trust me because of the color of skin. Some people see my skin and assume that I am not a good person; they assume that I may have some kind of bad attitude, rob them, or even hurt them. That is not fair to me or anyone that looks like me.

I know that not everyone in the world thinks this way and looks down on people of color, but until we can say that there is no one like that; no one that is going to poison the minds of others to think this way, then I can say that there is a problem. Every day the world changes, I just want to be able to say that every day the world changes for the better.