Don't Believe the Hype!

It’s interesting to me the narratives that are created about Black women. We’re too loud. We have bad attitudes. We’re catty. We’re gold diggers, hood rats, and the list goes on and on and on. Perhaps the most confusing axiom to me about Black women is that we don’t support each other or that we are always in competition with one another. I could blame this mistruth on shows such as Basketball Wives, Love & Hip Hop, and Housewives of Atlanta, but that would be unfair. Those shows are successful partly because they seem to illustrate all of the misnomers that already existed about Black women. However, this just isn’t my story.

Throughout my life, unto this day, I have been most supported by Black women- and I don’t just mean my momma and grandmomma and dem. I have literally been riding on the train and a Black woman complimented my hair or my shoes. One day while crossing the street and going to work a Black woman stopped me to compliment me. Another day, while walking to a food truck a group of young Black woman hit me with a YASSSSSSS! I have received random emails and DMs from Black women encouraging me and thanking me. And whenever I was in need of a tampon, my Black women had my back.

Furthermore, I have witnessed Black women rally around a sister who was being mistreated. I have been in the midst of Black women praying for another woman’s healing. I have watched Black women provide meals for weeks to a woman who lost her spouse or child. And we’ve all seen footage from a Black woman who made sure she had footage of her sister’s (and brother’s) mistreatment by police. Oh, let’s not forget the whole Black Lives Matter movement was started by three dun dun dunnnnn, drum roll please….. wait for it….. Black women!

So to the Black woman who says she can’t be friends with other Black women, I challenge you to reconsider. I challenge you to recognize the love and support you are missing out on and the strength you could be gaining from those relationships. I challenge you to look in the mirror and see the beauty in yourself so you can see the beauty in others. Cuz ain’t no love like a Black woman’s love. Honey… please… don’t believe the hype!

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