(This article is focused on working within the black community. It is NOT focused on outside factors. This article is not an attack on black women. The male equivalent will be released soon.)
The plight of black women in America is one that is often scrutinized, downplayed or ignored. There are many people who recognize the issue, but little is done by the black community to disrupt or correct this smear on our society. Some do not see the value in putting forth effort to pull black women out of the rut they have become accustomed to, but if this apathy was shown to be one of the greatest mistakes made when discussing the progression of the black community as a whole, would we have more concern?
If you fail to see the value in protecting the black woman, you fail to see the necessity of protecting the black community. Who births black children? Who most often raises a black child (considering the rate of black single parenthood sitting around 70%)? Who most often has the job of saving a child from becoming a statistic?: an overwhelming reality for children with single parents and an even greater possibility for children that are also raised in poverty.
If we don't express the necessity of a nuclear family, the importance of eduction, heal the wounds of ostracism and show black women that they are truly loved and valued, the odds of them forgiving the black man and understanding how much our community needs them are as slim as the possibility of us prospering without them. We will continue to see the slander on social media, black men being kept from their children, women raising children on their own and women instilling their anger and hatred into their children. Those children will become statistics and slaves to the system and the black community will remain stagnant. We have to regain the trust and love of the women that allow our communities to grow. Division and hatred have plagued our communities for years. We’ve learned to distrust each other and resent everything that makes us who we are. We must relearn trust and unity. We must fight the narratives that drive us apart. We must put aside the selfish grudges that splinter our community.
We must also encourage black women to raise strong black children. We must urge them not to overly coddle their children, but empower them to grow and make wise decisions and recognize the struggles that they will face in this world. We must convince them not to baby their sons. We must show them the value in holding their children accountable for their actions-- beyond the belt. Blaming the police when your child is caught committing a crime is not the answer. Taking preventative measures is all that can be done. Our community runs the prison system and that is nothing to be proud of. We should be successfully running businesses in the free world, not running prison blocks.
If we don’t empower black women to be strong in ways that benefit themselves as well as the collective and to make smarter decisions, we will never progress as a community. If we don’t empower them to continue educating themselves and wait to procreate with men that will stick around and help them raise intelligent and driven black children, the community will continue to fail. We all have our grievances with the systems we live in, but we must hold ourselves, our brothers and our sisters accountable for our actions and inactions before we can soundly claim that our oppression is not (if even minutely) self inflicted.
Abject hatred of Caucasians will carry us nowhere. White people are not the enemy. Our enemies are apathy, complacency, acceptance of victim status and hatred (among others). None of these will take us where we want to be. They will hold us in a vice grip where we stand. Love for our fellow man will provide us motivation and strength. Hatred will lend us waste and anger.
Another hindrance we have adopted is attacking black men and black women that date outside of their race. As a people we should continue to work in and promote our communities, but love is not respecting of race. We can and should continue to promote the black nuclear family, but we should never feel the need to force anyone into a box as far as who they love. Animosity toward those that venture into interracial relationships provides yet another roadblock when working to advance the black community.
I also urge black women to fight the frustration and anger that they feel toward black men. The circular arguments of the struggle may seem warranted, but they will keep us locked in this pool of finger-pointing and self-hatred. You attack black men for the wrongs they've committed or allowed to be perpetrated against you. The innocent black men take offense and fire back. In turn, you continue to aggressively voice your displeasure with black men and the cycle continues. This cycle must be broken, swept away and replaced with love and unity.
I do not posit that black women have no reason to be upset with black men or their current situation as a demographic. The mission here is to fight all of the issues plaguing the black community. One by one we will discuss and deal with these issues.
We have fallen, but a pure temple cannot be built on a corrupted pyre. The ruins must be cleared for the resurrection to begin.
RueIII
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