Disclaimer: I am not a racist. I have strong feelings and views about the history of black people in America.
I am reading When and Where I Enter: The Impact of Black Women on Race and Sex in America by Paula Giddings, and am experiencing so many emotions. My feelings range from pride to sadness to absolute rage!
I am proud of the courage and efforts made by the females that made it possible for me to be able to read this book and write this blog post. I thank God for Ida B. Wells, Mary Church Terrell, Anna Julia Cooper and all the other women mentioned in the book.
Sadness is felt when I read about what black mothers had to do to protect their children in American society. But it really hurts to learn how they had to protect their daughters from being sexually exploited by white men. How they had to be protectors of their families because of the racism against black men. How they had to defend their morality and intelligence despite obvious proof they were intelligent women. And all of this was made up by white men to their advantage.
Now, rage kicks in when I think about how black women were the only women who could birth slaves which means America was built on the backs of their slave children, yet we are still at the bottom of the political, social and economic food chain. And, black women were used for other people’s political and social agendas even though their positions in these arenas were not seriously considered.
What really turned my chocolate self purple was when I read that while black women were being “breeders” to produce slave children to make more money for their masters, white women were intentionally getting pregnant to collect money. In fact, they had always been degraded so that white women could be placed on pedestals. It’s still happening today; just watch TV. And, we all know that people from other countries have been compensated for “wrongs” done to them by America and are progressing very nicely in the “land of the free”, but black people are still fighting to get equal pay and equal justice. Hell, they are just trying to get jobs to feed their families these days. Unemployment rates in the black community far exceeds national levels. Coincidence? I think not. Bulls**t. Most definitely.
Arrghhh. I’m getting angry just thinking about the injustice and the unfair treatment. And I haven’t even reached page 100!
Anyway, When & Where I Enter has given me a greater respect for the black women in history; a greater respect for myself; and a greater appreciation for black women in general.
To vent my frustrations about these findings and other things I learn about the contradictions about blacks in American history, I’m going to start a podcast to complement by blog, As NOT Seen on TV. I don’t know when it’s going to happen, but look out for it because it’s going to happen. And when I enter, people need to look out!
Want to get enlightened and possibly outraged with me? Click here to order your copy:
When and Where I Enter: The Impact of Black Women on Race and Sex in America
Have you read the book? What are your thoughts? What are your feelings?