2016 feels like the year to attack black women. We’re about two thirds of the way done with it and they have made their way through all aspects of sports, news and pop culture. Black women have showed their true prowess in this year alone that can show the world how amazing and full of magic they really are to make it through strong. Of course, they have done many great things, but unfortunately, our black women have been under so much scrutiny for seemingly doing nothing but being human.

First we have Beyonce. In February, after releasing her lead single to her then unannounced 6th album, Beyonce took to the Super Bowl where she joined Coldplay and Bruno Mars to perform "Formation" which was released the day before. The video caused an uproar for seemingly being “too black” as it showed the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans and images showcasing a visual commentary on police brutality and the Black Lives Matter movement. Of course, that is enough to send enraged conservatives in front of screens to either talk about or type about what they feel was "racist" towards them. There was even a call to "Boycott Beyonce" by police officers and media alike on her upcoming tour, which sold out anyway because she is Beyonce. She would even go on to include "Boycott Beyonce" shirts as a part of her tour merchandise. If they were mad before, they were definitely enraged then.

But the black woman scrutiny didn't end there. In mid-July, comedian and actress Leslie Jones faced many racist attacks from Twitter trolls regarding her role in the new remake of the 1984 classic "Ghostbusters." These attacks were unprovoked by anything but the fact that Jones performed the role she was given. Jones would eventually publicly announce that she would be taking a break from Twitter amid the attacks. It’s sad to see an amazing comedian do her job well and receive not just regular hate, but racist attacks.

Jones wasn't the only black woman to receive racist remarks on Twitter, though. Jump ahead a week or two and Normani Kordei from the all girl group Fifth Harmony was also receiving ignorant racist remarks on Twitter. The kicker here is that these remarks were from fans of the group. It’s unclear what the official reason for these attacks were, but many believe it was her comments when asked to describe fellow member Camila Cabello. Normani described members Lauren, Dinah-Jane, and Aly longer and took a while before describing Cabello as “cute and quirky.” Rumors always circle that Normani wasn’t a fan of Cabello, and those who saw Cabello as their favorite didn’t take kindly to that. No matter their personal differences, if there actually are any, fans have no right to attack a member because they don’t like how she described another member; at least it was positive. Nonetheless, Normani too decided to take a break from Twitter amid these attacks.

Now let's move towards the Olympics. We saw black women like shot-put gold winner Michelle Carter, 100m freestyle gold medalist Simone Manual, and gymnastics all around gold medalist Simone Biles make history. But unfortunately it’s not all milk and honey for our black women at the Olympics. Gabby Douglas, 2012 Individual All-Around Gold Winner in gymnastics, has received a bunch of hate. The first round came after she didn’t put her hand over her heart while the National Anthem was being played. She apologized on Twitter, but shouldn’t have had to. There should be no issue when an Olympian competing for a country forgets to do so or even doesn’t want to. You don’t have to place your hand over your heart to show respect. Also, people may be mistaking the National Anthem for the Pledge of Allegiance as you usually place your hand over your heart for the latter. The second round came about after seeming jealous when her teammates, Simone Biles and Aly Raisman were competing in the 2016 Individual All-Around Finals in Rio. Gabby explained her actions which are all reasonable but that didn’t stop hate firing from all directions from both incidents.

It's sad that these are not the only black woman who have received backlash for doing nothing wrong. We have most recently Zendaya, after being cast as Mary Jane in the upcoming Spiderman movie, getting a bunch of negative feedback because she didn't have "red hair" which some see as code for her not being white. Something always happens at the VMA’s and we have an upcoming live performance of Rocky Horror on Fox where Laverne Cox will play Dr. Frank-N-Furter. My inner pessimist feels the racist will come out strong during those times, but my inner optimist hopes for the best and that they receive mostly praises and maybe constructive criticism.

All in all, it’s unfortunate that in 2016, black women aren't allowed to have opinions, do their job, answer a question, and must seem excited at all times throughout the day. They cant use their platforms to discuss prevalent issues. Although they are talented, they aren’t allowed to be human. They aren’t allowed to make a small mistake with the spotlight on them. They have their talent disregarded for ignorant opinions having to do with nothing more than their race. But somehow, through it all, they manage to push through, perform well, and live their lives as best as they can.