Don't Admire Me. Protect Me.

As I’ve scrolled through my timeline this week I’ve been inundated with the blatant reality that the society I live in has no interest in protecting Black women. Yes, this society loves to praise and admire Black women for their “Black girl magic.” It loves to tell our stories of triumph and perseverance. It has no problem appropriating our style, swag, or trendy colloquialisms. However, when it comes down to the moment we need someone to step into the fire with us and defend us far too often so many of the loudest voices go silent, and the toxic ones are given full reign of the arena.

So today I’m here to call people on their BS and let them know that enough is actually enough. Ignorance is no longer an excuse. This country turns its back on Black women in danger and even the Black community remains silent far too often. Black women have more than earned the right to be seen, heard, and believed… THE FIRST TIME. We go hard for everyone else’s cause and fight side by side to push the needle of equality forward in regards to all other disenfranchised groups in the country. However, when the pendulum swings our way everyone wants clarity or to know what “we did” or simply assumes we’re trying to discredit someone else.

Black women should be revered and admired, because we’re the ones who have to deal with the burnt of America’s patriarchy and BS. We’re the ones who see clearly the difference between right and wrong and choose to fight for right no matter what. We’re the ones who have taken blow after blow, but still, stand up and defend our communities and Black men. We’re the ones who will always have your back in a fight even if it puts our lives in danger. We think globally and focus on the whole as opposed to the individual. So as a Black woman who desperately wants to see a change in the world I say this, “I’m tired of putting on my cape for everyone else, and no one throwing that cape back on for me.”

Now before ya’ll start @’ing me please understand that I know there those who are true allies of Black women and stand with us… And for those of you who fall into this category we appreciate you. However, as a whole, this is just not the case. When Black women 2½ times more likely to die from pregnancy-related complications than their white counterparts you can’t tell me the majority is looking to protect them. When Black women experience intimate partner violence at a rate 35% higher than that of white females you can’t tell me that the majority is looking to protect them. When according to the National Center for Education Statistics Black women are THE most educated demographic in this country, but still are paid 38% less than white men and 21% less than white women, you can’t tell me the majority is looking to protect them.

And all of this is only compounded when a Black woman trying to get a restraining order to protect herself is held in contempt of court and arrested. It’s only compounded when celebrities like Keke Palmer and Meg Thee Stallion share their truths and are met with public backlash. It’s only compounded when billboards demanding justice for Breonna Taylor are vandalized in KY. It’s only compounded when activist Oluwatoyin "Toyin" Salau's lifeless body is found in Tallahassee, FL...And the list goes on and on.

As black women, I’m tired of explaining why and how I, and other people who look like me, are mistreated and ignored when our lives are literally endangered. It’s time for more people to stand up and speak out on our behalf the same way we support them, and that’s really the long and short of it. #periodt

#justiceforBreonna #nojusticenopeace #racismisalive #mindfulness #dontbesilenced #blackwoman #standinyourtruth #bebold #motivated #bethelight #liveyourtruth #dream #traumatotribute #traumahealing #paradigmshift.⠀