Bl@ck Girl Activist: Changing The Narrative Of Black Women

By Dr Pamela Gurley

Being a Black girl activist is being an advocate for change when it comes to women of color and how we need our community to shift the way we think of ourselves to change the narrative about us. Society has a way of making black and brown women and girls feel unworthy based on hair texture, skin color, physical features, and at times even devalu

• Language: English
• Publisher: Clark and Hill Enterprise
• Release date: Mar 30, 2021
• ISBN: 9781734221848

Book preview

Preface

Ladies, we have to talk. And we have many things to talk about, but the first thing I want to talk about is the challenges of being a black woman. You know we [black women] are less likely associated with the term ‘typical woman.’ And while yes, diversity is on the rise, equity is not. And neither is how we are represented.

It is a widely known fact that negative social stigmas are more associated with Black women than white women (or other races). This has been going on for so many years we have become oblivious to it (and sadly, some have conformed to it). It’s like a black woman and a white woman isn’t similar in even the slightest ways (which we know damn well that is the farthest from the truth).

It is also true that Black women are often excluded in conversations about sexism, classism, socialism, and other challenges women face. It’s like we’re not considered women at all.

When you turn on the television, go on Facebook, Twitter…, you don’t just hear a person outrightly mention the Black woman and the challenges she faces in society (even though we face a unique battle of all forms of discrimination in the society).

Well, let me take that back. You may see them, but they are of celebrity status, which means it has to matter now (even if it fizzles out pretty quickly). Nobody stands up long-term for the Black woman. Rarely do other Black women stand up for other Black women.

At this point, I wondered if we are invisible when it comes to the discussion of equity.

This ignorance and this attitude towards the Black woman indirectly mean that movements and activities meant to help women only contribute to the black woman’s marginalization.

Black women are only linked to Black men, and that’s it. This show of indifference between the Black women and the Black men might explain why we suffer from similar (at some point even more) rates of racial inequality. It’s all you hear all the time.

Maybe it is because blackness for women is automatically attached to aggression. That is probably why Black women lack recognition.

From an early age, we are made to question our skin color, curves, marks, hair… everything. We are made to doubt our existence. Our genuineness.

You turn on the TV, and it’s a movie about a lean white woman. You open a book, and it’s the description of pale skin, blue eyes, and bony figures.

We are made to feel insecure—question our identity.

But for how long?

Black women have, and we continue to overcome extreme hardships. We have suffered a ridiculous amount of trauma, and every attempt to navigate through the issues we face presents us with a row of diverse predicaments. We are put in a tight spot, but ladies, I say it’s time for a shift.

Socially. Mentally. Emotionally. Physically. Economically. Politically.

We can no longer allow ourselves to be victims of classism and socialism. And ladies—Black Queens—let’s please remove colorism from our community.

It’s time we kick these stereotypes’ butts.

It’s time for a change.

How do we invoke that shift—that change?

I’ll tell you how.

First, we need to redefine Black womanhood. Even though we are largely aware of society’s perceptions