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In this moment, the future of our rights, our bodily autonomy, our freedom feels uncertain. What we do next will make a difference for decades to come.
Black Women Are the Resistance
White women use drugs at similar rates as Black women, yet Black women are arrested at higher rates than white women for drug-related offenses. Black “women only made 64 cents to the dollar compared to white, non-Hispanic men in 2010 [while] white women made 78.1 cents to the same dollar.” Black women are threatened by systemic racism, sexism and classism.
And what have modern-day movements been doing to alleviate some of the burdens Black women face on a daily basis?
That’s it – absolutely nothing! Unfortunately, “the American Dream is at the expense of [Black people].” We cannot afford for our resistance to be self-serving and risk losing sight of inclusivity – too many Black and Brown bodies have suffered from this exact line of thinking.
Which is why the March for Black Women last Saturday was so important – because it had an intersectional approach that encompassed the struggles Black women face on a daily. Marches for women have been historically overwhelmingly white. They have mainly focused on issues raised by cis, white women, thus ignoring the individual struggle that women of color, LGBTQ women, and nonbinary women face. There is not a day that goes by when a Black woman is not Black and a woman, so we must acknowledge the individual experience of all Black women. For too long, American progress has left Black behind. The March for Black Women helped shed light on not only the struggle Black women face, but also their tenacity to persist and accomplish in spite of challenges.
Black women have broken glass ceilings that people before them never imagined could be broken. I felt honored to march alongside my sisters to fight and speak up against the dominant paradigm that silences our struggle. Black women have been the face of progressive movements, risking it all to fight for the rights of people who have countlessly turned their backs on our struggle. Black women are the Resistance, and yet too often Black women bear the brunt of the injustices that flood the pulse of the United States. Will you join the resistance and fight for Black women like we so often fight for y’all?
