“The most disrespected person in America is the black woman. The most unprotected person in America is the black woman. The most neglected person in America is the black woman.” Malcom X
While on duty a few weeks ago, a Black Female Resident Advisor (RA) was implementing policies in West Hall, which involved a few black men. While descending down a flight of stairs, one of the residents uttered “Black Bitch.” Now let’s be mindful that there were three Black Females present in this situation, and the residents being addressed were also black, so clearly this raises red flags.
Fortunately, the situation was resolved and the resident wasn’t actually addressing her. However, this made me wonder, why do statements like this have such an effect on women of all colors?
After the situation, the RA who thought she was being called a black bitch was really affected by this proclamation, and honestly, I was as well. Being disrespected by your own kind is way worse than being disrespected by others.
Anywhere you turn, you can find a Black woman being disrespected. From all social media platforms to celebrities such as French Montana and many others. Black women throughout history and to this day have always been mocked and judged for their appearance.
In Stero Williams’ “The Most Disrespected Person in America Is Still the Black Woman,” he makes more than a few arguments about the trials and tribulations of being a Black Woman.
“I thought about how often I see black women being attacked on social media with these exact same kinds of insults. It’s sadly common for a woman to be hit with insults about her appearance; but black women have been historically mocked and marginalized for physical traits specific to black womanhood, and they’ve been routinely vilified for perceived negative behaviors that are fairly universal. That’s simply misogyny and racism. And no one can pretend that these sorts of attacks only come from non-black men.”
As I continued to read his heartfelt article, I thought of multiple times I’ve seen Black young men here on campus disrespect women of color with no intentions of stopping. It not only hurts Black women but it shows how Black men show little respect for the women of their same race. However, it is rare to see black men bashing white women, which I am glad isn’t the case but sheesh, what makes her so different from me and why do I, a Black woman, always have to get the bad end of the stick?
The issue that we as Black women face is the disappointing reality that too often when the Black men decide to date women of other nationalities, they feel compelled to bash and demean us in the process. Leaving us to question, “How hard is it to love her without hating us?”
This annoyingly ignorant couple serves as the public face for what has become a regular occurrence: Black men demeaning Black women. Daily, I come across social media statuses and meme posts from Black men saying ignorant sh*t like:
“Black girls, you better step your game up because White girls are taking over.”
“White girls getting ass now. Black women, they are coming for your spot.”
It’s bad enough all odds are stacked against Black Women, it isn’t cool our own men have joined those odds.
Hi there! Such a great article, thank you!