“Shocking! Did Malia Obama smoke marijuana at Lollapalooza?”

“Golden girl Simone Biles’ ex-addict birth-mom reveals bitter family rift.”

“Gabby Douglas is being criticized for not putting her hand on her heart during U.S. national anthem.”

Malia Obama has been accepted into Harvard. Simone Biles is the all-round Olympic gold medalist in gymnastics. Gabby Douglas was the first African-American Olympic gold medalist in gymnastics and both she and Simone are on the current winning American Olympic gymnastics team.

What do they all have in common? They’re young, gifted black girls in America.

Somehow, both the mainstream media and social media have been having a field day dragging these talented young women down as of late. Why is it that when black women shine, it leaves people feeling so threatened that they must find something to undermine us with?

This past week, the media has been fixated by Malia Obama: Malia “twerking”, Malia at Lollapalooza, and now Malia “smoking weed”. For some reason, there is a new wave of moral outrage at a teenager blazing up marijuana. The target? A young, 18-year-old black girl attending Harvard next year. What happened to “kids will be kids”? Unfortunately, black kids are almost always regarded with more scrutiny than they deserve. Let the girl have some fun. She’s going to Harvard next year, and has been nothing but well-behaved while her family has been in the White House for these past eight years.

Simone Biles is blazing right now. She just won the individual gold for girls’ gymnastics at the Olympics. And what is the media publishing now? Stories about her biological mother, and an unrelated ugly back-story of her family. Simone Biles is the epitome of black excellence at this very moment, but people are dredging up old family issues to try to undermine her success, instead of praising her spectacular achievements from her own hard work and dedication.

The most ridiculous criticism directed towards an athlete that I have ever seen would have to go to Gabby Douglas, for not placing her hand on her heart during the US National Anthem at the Olympics. Gabby Douglas just led her team to the overall girls’ gymnastics gold for USA, but apparently she’s not “patriotic” enough because she does not subscribe to the gestures that some others do? When did it become imperative to have your hand on your chest for the Anthem and not just the Pledge of Allegiance? Why does it matter? The “outrage” is ludicrous, given that Gabby really did not do anything wrong, and she is slaying the Olympics for her country.

These are all young girls between the ages of 18 and 20, who have accomplished great things in their lives already, and are gracious in their success. The only crime they have committed is to be black girls in America. They do not deserve the criticism they receive from people who are disgruntled by their achievements. Young, black girls in America deserve better.