We, the Black women are tired. We are tired of being ostracized from our appearance to fashion, politics, and everything in between. We are tired of being told that wearing our hair the way our ancestors have worn before us is considered "ghetto", "dirty", and "unprofessional", yet when the pretty white girl does it, it's considered "edgy". How many times do we have to hear that we need to straighten our hair to find ourselves a man or a great paying job? How many times are we discouraged to wear what we want to wear without being called a slew of injurious words? Why can't we be fashionable? Why can't we set our own trends and be recognized for doing so? Why must we get the short end of the stick for wanting to be beautiful on our own? We are tired of this.
We, the Black women have been screaming, but none of you have listened. We have been screaming for centuries as our ancestors were dragged in chains. We have been screaming for our rights, for people to hear us, but you all seem to be deaf to what we are trying to say. Non-Black women, please, stop trying to talk over us and talk with us and listen! Listen to what we have to say, listen to our struggle, just like we want to listen and understand yours. How are we supposed to move on in this country when no one wants to listen to us? We have been screaming to the heavens, "what about us?" and no one bats an eye. We have been screaming 'til our voices have gone hoarse. People keep speaking over us and we are tired.
We, the Black women are confused as to why our own Black men hate us. Weren't they born from a Black woman too? They mock us and tear us down. They make fun of us because some of us are darker than others and so we are seen as dirty, disgusting, impure. We're called words that are beyond skin-deep, that they penetrate our soul and so we have to go elsewhere and we're demonized for not appreciating them. We are demonized for not wanting to fall for the Black men that disrespect us day in and day out. We scream to them that we love them and respect them, but they need to respect us. We've screamed and no one hears us and we are tired of it all.
We, the Black women, are tired of being called strong. We hate the trope of being "a strong Black woman who don't need no man". We should not be the ones to be damned to carry the weight of the world. We want to love as much as everyone else can. We are tired of being these fierce warriors who feel nothing. We want to feel something, we want to feel it all! We are tired of carrying a lead weight on our chests that keep us from breathing. We've screamed that we couldn't breathe. We've cried our tears of the agonizing pain to be beautiful. We're confused as to why our own men hate us and yet, no one bats an eye and that, is exhausting.
We, the Black women, want you all to try and understand that we are human too. If you cut us, we bleed the same red color that goes through the veins of every human being. We laugh, cry, and get angry. We have our own ambitions and our own passions. We aspire to get far in this life and we inspire our own to do the same. We, the Black women want you all to hear us when we scream, to hold our hands and encourage us to not give up. To speak with us and not up for us and not over us. We want you all to recognize how disrespected we are.
