Day 1 of “Crashing” Women’s History Month

Just as many of us know that #MeToo originated with Tarana Burke, a Black woman, and then was hijacked and “popularized” by white women celebrities like Alyssa Milano and Michelle Williams, we also know that Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony—both white women, seized control of and are credited with the suffragist/feminist movement of the19^th century.

You know the routine.

Black women do the heavy lifting. White women get the credit.

Black women fight for themselves and for all women. White women render Black women virtually invisible.

Black women work to dismantle racism. White women embrace white supremacy.

Look it up. The halo-endowed “good” Elizabeth Cady Stanton is on the record as a racist who openly subscribed to white supremacy and betrayed Black women.

The white suffragist movement, white feminism, et al—are basically nothing more than white supremacy wearing lipstick, never serving the interests of Black women while continuing to uphold this “tradition” and legacy.

In my latest book, “Blaxhaustion, Karens & Other Threats to Black Lives and Well-Being,” I wrote a letter to white women which I’ve adapted and include here. It says it all.

 

Dear white women of the past and present,

Black women have grown so very tired of waiting for you to get your shit together. You’ve been playing your little innocent act for far too long. You ain’t fooling nobody but yourself and the gullible men of all races that can’t see right through you. Your cunning and savvy surpass mediocre man-ness, but not so for us though. We see you. Black women have always had your number.

You’ve been wreaking havoc in our lives since the time of our enslaved ancestors. You showed us who you were that first time when you heaped terrible abuse on us when you thought no one else was looking, when, instead of recognizing, empathizing with, and defending our powerless and oppressed plight, you punished us when your white men repeatedly raped us. Their crime was your shame too, and you beat us for it.

We also know your dirty little secret. The one that nobody talks about. The one that the history books forgot to mention when they footnote the fact that your white men impregnated our ancestors. What about you though? To hide your carnal desire for enslaved Black men, you enticed them to lay in your whiteness to satisfy your forbidden lust. Denying you was not their option if they wanted to live. Their refusal would be met with your torn garments and cries of rape. You are the consummate liar. You knew full well they’d be tortured and killed by white men enraged at even the slightest suggestion of your sullied and violated pristine feminine whiteness.

What did you do with the babies you birthed whose melanated skin was the evidence of your sin? Did you even for a split-second think about how you could pass the baby off as the progeny of your white husband in order to save the life of your baby? What did you tell him when after nine months of watching you swell with what he believed was his seed resulted in a “stillborn”? Did he even ask to see the baby and say good-bye?  And oh, what smart and cunning response did you have ready for him? Did you demand our ancestors keep their mouths shut regarding your secret or you’d see them hanged?

During slavery and beyond, you perfected your machinations and tactics. By the time your lying ass sister Carolyn Bryant came on the scene with her false claims about Emmett Till, you had already learned that you could easily get even young Black boys killed. Your tactics in 2020 have evolved but have never really changed. With your regard for truth as irrelevant, you simply need only tell or hint to a white man that you’ve been wronged in some way. How easy it still is for you to activate white male rage or violence against Black bodies or Blackness in general.

 You bask in your feigned superiority by instructing, correcting, and abusing Black women. You seek to take from white men the power you think should be yours by manipulating him and playing on his belief that white womanhood should be safeguarded and protected. You collect Black men like tools knowing that the “right” one will do your bidding and then is easily disposable and replaceable. Like a bus, another one will come along shortly.

Knowing that you never have to get your hands dirty, in your quest for white-man power, you wield your own power by capitalizing on a combination of tropes that involve tears, the pedestal, innocence, “fragility,” female delicateness, protection and safeguarding of female whiteness, white femininity, womanly wiles, etc. 

We see you, white women.

We see you coveting access and entry into the good ole’ boys club.

We see you, white women.

We see you not caring about us or our real struggles.

We see you, white women.

We see you clamoring to be acknowledged and recognized for your rightful place alongside white men or above him.

We see you, white women.

We see you actively and complicitly engaging in relegating us to the bottom.

We see you, white women.

We see you enjoying the fruits of privilege at our expense.

We see you, white women.

We see you judging us and viewing us with scorn for the messy choices many of us make just to survive.

We see you, white women.

We see you leaning in and clawing for a better seat at the table.

We see you, white women.

We see you diminishing us for ensuring we can put food on the table.

We see you, white women.

We see you forcing a convenient wedge between us and Black men when you attempt to use us for your white feminist-centered agenda.

We see you, white women.

We see you misunderstanding our feminism that greatly values the safety of our Black husbands, lovers, sons, and brothers at the hands of whiteness.

We. See. You.

It is time for you to also see you.

Read your history. Check the facts. Look at population data. You are the main reason that racism still persists in this country. THE main reason.

 

Sincerely,

Black women of yesterday and today

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#WomensHistoryMonth #feminism #women #history #antiracism #inclusion