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Image via The of Being Feminine ™

Being pro-Black woman doesn’t mean you are antiBlack man. I feel like I have repeated this for the 1,000th time but it needs to be repeated. It means like Black men have done during every single social and political movement, Black women must put our political, physical, financial and social interests first. I believe Black women must become pro-Black woman in order to have our issues resolved. If we do not, things will simply stay the same. Why have Black women’s issues been ignored even though we have actively participated in every civil rights movement? It is my opinion that Black women and Black men have been conditioned to have two different perspectives of the Black community.
I believe the difference between Black women and Black men is that Black men see themselves as men who happen to be Black. That’s why some do not protect and march for Black women. That is why some are also actively promoting and upholding patriarchal and intraracial racist beliefs. Ask yourself when was the last time there was an act of injustice against Black women that Black men en mass were actively involved in? Was it equal to the level of participation Black women conducted during the Trayvon Martin situation? We know the answer. However these same people expect Black women to march in protest for them.
Black women, unlike every other group, see themselves as Blacks who happen to be women. Racial identity comes first. We have subconsciously adapted the mentality that “all women are White and all Blacks are men.” Because of this, black women are fully invested in alleviating and eradicating all of problems within the black community (Black men’s issues) but it comes at a cost. Issues like the epidemic of sexual abuse committed against Black girls under the age of 18, the 64,000 missing Black women and girls, street harassment, domestic violence, black girls having the highest school suspension rate and other pressing issues are often ignored. However, issues pertaining to Black men and boys are constantly acknowledged and steps are being taken to end it, i.e. “My Brothers Keeper.” The sad thing is that we accept it because we believe this is how it is supposed to be. We are meant to be servants. Basically while saving our sons we are ignoring and minimizing the cries and pain of our daughters.
Many Blacks are uncomfortable with the notion of Black women seeing ourselves as women who are Black because it means demanding reciprocity just like every other group. They use words like feminists, bitches, “divide and conquer” and others to bully Black women into submission and silence. Quite honestly, they are invested in maintaining the status quo which means ignoring the needs of Black women and putting Black men’s issues first. I’m not asking you to align yourself with White feminist nor am I asking you to be antiBlack man. Many of us have wonderful people in our lives who are feminists and or Black men. However, I am asking you to do what every other group has done. Black women must put our needs, wants, safety and health first. Break the 400 years of mammy, maid and servant service conditioning. If we don’t, things will never change and we will continue to suffer in silence. We owe ourselves more than that.
Thanks for reading.