LIFE: Struggling

The resilience it takes to do anything in this world as a Black woman should be taken more seriously and supported.  The sheer exhaustion and silent suffering we must face each day is beyond fathomable.  

We come up with slogans of ‘still I rise’, and we trudge along with the weight to keep moving forward, but I’m sorry it’s just too much. 

There’s the insane stereotypes about us having health issues because of our diets and eating bad food.  Let me tell you something:

High Blood Pressure?  We're Stressed!

We have to sit in silence while we’re disrespected, talked down to, overlooked, dismissed, touched without permission, devalued, not protected, not heard, not believed…….on. a. daily. basis. And we can’t say shit.  One word will have us losing everything: Life, Job, Community, Spirit. Having to walk around with a mask on every day, hiding our true selves for fear of retribution is beyond exhausting (physically, mentally, emotionally). Let a non-Black woman walk in the shoes, or even the brain of a Black woman for one DAY and she’d jump off a roof or end up in a padded cell.  The emotional weight we have to carry, to stay hyper-focused, hyper-awareness of our surroundings, needing to quickly scan a new space and determine the safe and unsafe spaces – and persons – and shift the mask according to who you’re talking to, all in the name of ‘safety’, would kill the average person. 

Heart Disease?  We’re Heart-Broken!

American Blacks were stripped of our culture, language, identity and families for HUNDREDS of years.  No one heard us screaming. No one came to rescue us. No one protected us. We’ve been treated like shit for centuries and have to sit and watch other under-represented groups stand up, demand care, respect, value and it’s done within years. We’re still waiting. Everyone leverages the strength of what American Blacks have fought for with civil rights, but when the time comes to turn back and pull us forward with them? Crickets. 

High Mortality? We're Depressed & Unheard!

Medically, we're ignored and our pain is not taken seriously. This trope that we can tolerate a higher rate of pain is indeed, insane. Doctors don't listen to us, don't study how our bodies are different than other cultures and certain diseases show up differently than others. COVID? For us it showed up as malaise and we were told to rest. No, rest and laying down was killing us.

Emotionally, we're tired. Tired of watching our community killed, imprisoned and held to a different standard. Tired of being gaslit and betrayed at our jobs. Tired of seeing ourselves disappear and no one does anything to find us. Suicide rates among Black females ages 15-24 went from 1.9 per 100k in 1999 to 4.9 per 100k in 2020. In 2023, Black women in high income brackets have an increase of 20% odds of suicide compared to white women in the lowest socioeconomic strata. In 2023, 40% of Black women reported leaving their jobs in because they didn't feel emotionally safe or were unable to lean into their identity in the workplace. This takes a significant mental health toll within professional enviroments.

References:

Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine

American Foundation for Suicide Prevention

US Dept of Health & Human Services

Columbia University Irving Medical Center