“The most disrespected person in America is the Black woman. The most unprotected person in America is the Black woman. The most neglected person in America is the Black woman." -- Malcolm X
This is dedicated to the black woman. The one with the loud voice and even louder personality. The one who is afraid to stand out because they’re afraid that they might get looked at the wrong way. This one is for you.
Some may think, “Why does this even matter?” Well, I’ll tell you why. Before "Scandal," "HTGAWM," Michelle Obama and of course "Lemonade," black women were primarily portrayed the same way they’ve always been. Angry. Loud. Emasculating. It infuriates me.
When you watch any reality TV show with a black woman in it, how are they portrayed? What are they doing? How are they acting? Black women in every reality TV series in the past decade have done nothing but increase this stereotype about us. We’re angry. We fight to get what we want. It’s sad. It traps us and makes us believe that this is all we are capable of because this is what we see. Think about the little girls that watch these shows -- which they do. This will affect their entire life moving forward. When will the cycle end?
Growing up in a hometown with majority white people and going to an elementary, middle and high school where no one looked like me, affected my entire life. I had no friends that looked like me, so I looked to television to find my place; little did I know that this would affect me my whole life.
What’s next for us? Empowerment.
It’s time we stop worrying about what the next person is whispering about us now. It’s time for us to live and embrace the beautiful melanin we were born with. Embrace that loud voice, girl! Use it to speak up and out! Use it to inform! To empower!
A huge praise goes to the wonderful Shonda Rhimes, the woman who single-handedly turned around the portrayal of a black woman on television. Who wouldn’t want to be an Annalise Keating or Olivia Pope?
A huge round of applause to the Queen Bey herself for making us believe in #BlackGirlMagic again. To the critics, the naysayers and that one person on Facebook who will repost everything negative they can find about her Super Bowl performance; you don’t get it, and you might not ever, and that's OK. Beyoncé figured out what she stood for and her platform to empower and inform. And, honestly, I could not be any happier with the outcome of "Lemonade."
To the little girl who is watching "Love and Hip Hop Atlanta" or "Bad Girls Club," turn off the TV and read a book! Open your mind.
This one is for you. The one who lets others control how they view themselves. The one who can’t seem to love the skin they’re in because everyone else hates it. You don't have to think like this anymore because this year is for us. This one is for us. This one is for change.
