I, like many other black women, have been conditioned to be overly conscious of my actions. Always careful of my speech, my tone, my hair, my clothes. But the older I get, the more I learn to come to terms with myself and not conform to what society thinks is best for me to do.
Black women have always been told to suppress their emotions and natural human instinct. If I am to speak with passion and conviction, it is often misinterpreted as aggressive. When a black woman is actually angry, it is frowned upon and seen as unnatural. Yet for non-black Latina women, it is sexy. No one even questions anger in white women. So black women are conditioned to unhealthy habits like suppressing emotions for the sake of not embodying the stereotype. But instead of being told to shut up, why don't people ever question why black women are so angry?
Here is a photo of my mother in college debating with another student about the Persian Gulf War, straight from my grandmother's photo album. Notice the reaction of everyone surrounding my mother but not the student she is arguing with.
Do you want to know why black women are angry?
Even in 2016, women still earn 78 cents to every dollar a man makes and for black women that number is lower. According to the American Association of University Women, Black women earn 64 cents to the dollar, in comparison to white, non-Hispanic men. This number is barely above Hispanic/Latino women at 54 cents.
Because black women fear for the lives of their fathers, husbands, brothers and sons, due to the fact that black men make up for 40 percent of unarmed people shot by police and are seven times more likely to be unarmed and fatally shot by police.
Because while they worry for their black brothers, they also fear being killed and no one advocating for justice on their behalf. #SayHerName #TanishaAnderson #SandraBland #MiriamCarey #MalissaWilliams to name a few.
Because feminism does not always include black women. (Lest we forget the Nicki Minaj - Taylor Swift argument).
Because we are not always seen. Not as a human, not as a woman, not as mother, sister or daughter.
Because we have to battle the adversities of being a woman in America in addition to the constant war of being black in America.
So yes, I am a black woman and I am angry. I will not apologize for my emotions or my passion. If my "sassiness" offends you, then so be it. I will not be docile. I will not "pipe down" or be quiet. Our emotions have been criminalized and our voices have been silenced for far too long. I will no longer shy away from the Angry Black Woman stereotype because we exist and our feelings are valid and very real.
