It's hard to be a feminist. Even in the 21st century, the very rights that our forbearers fought so hard for are being disregarded and stripped away. While the rich and famous grow more conscious and become more vocal about the inequality facing women, there are still large communities being left out of the conversation. Being a woman is hard enough. Being a black woman, and a feminist at that is a separate dilemma altogether. Both glorious and taxing. Being a young black woman who is conscious of the social, political, and economic factors that work against her is a double edged-sword. On one hand a young, black feminist means having a certain level of enlightenment. Knowledge is power and if a young woman of color is aware of the ways she is being oppressed in society, she can then take active steps to change it.
It's a shame really, that black women doubly suffer and therefore must doubly work. It is, however, the way of the world. The black woman must overcome oppression both inside and outside of her own community. The young, black feminist may, and most likely will overcome sexism from those she knows and those she does not. It is a type of oppression that's very common and easy to comprehend when coming from those people outside of her community. What is most vexing are the instances where it comes from within her community. when the black man does little or nothing to support his fellow woman, but then expects her to support him in overcoming his oppression, he oppresses her. What else could it be called, for the black man to focus on his own suffering and either belittle or disregard that the same is happening to black women?
It's odd.Black women are often relied on for their strength, resilience, and intelligence and yet can be completely written off in spite of it. This is even more of a reason for the young black feminist to do all she can to achieve equality for herself and those and hers around her. In some ways, the young, black , feminist of today is caught between two different modes of thought. There's still the old-school mode of thought that dictated our mothers and their mothers before them. At the same time, there's the new age of thinking that comes from attending new institutions and realizing that there is no perfect way to merge traditional respectability with new wave thought. Often one overpowers the other. The young. black feminist navigates these worlds to the best of her ability.
Often, the greatest threat to the burgeoning black feminist is not men or even misogyny. It's sometimes other women. Even in the modern feminist movement, black women are often left out of the conversation, and criticized when we carve out a movement of our own as a result. Some see it as us causing a rift in the movement. Others, such as myself, see it as making sure our voices are heard when they otherwise would not be. Not every woman suffers or is oppressed in the same way. It would be a mistake to criticize one for pointing out how one form of feminism is more privileged than the other. What the young, black feminist possess that makes her truly powerful is her hope. She has all of the drive and vision that comes with youth and the wisdom that comes from the knowledge gifted her by her forebearers. This is what it means to young, feminist and black.
