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misogynoir2mishpat's avatar

Part of what is so distressing, is that we have had so many high-profile Black women academics, in the US, die suddenly. The unfair burdens placed upon Black women is egregious. Typical Black women in the US will arrive in their jobs early (to avoid assumptions about their professionalism). They will leave work to pickup children or head straight to church to fulfill additional duties, come home to review homework for children, cook, feed and put them to bed. Most married Black women carry all those burdens, even if they have a spouse. The unfair burdens placed on Black women carry unfair burdens at work, come home to manage the house so their husbands can "relax," navigate the work of cooking for the church "fish fry" to raise funds for the leaky roof ... these stories are typical. But the burden is heaped upon Black women in settings which include the wider community, their own community (such as the church) and then their private spheres of home. What infuriates me is hearing people say, "Wow! You're so strong," instead of "Wow! How can I help?" It is that question which allows us all to help shoulder burdens together. This is the mandate of the Church. This is why "My yoke is easy and burden is light." That's a statement of God's "with-ness." Because God is "with," then we never have carry it alone. But the way God provides "withness" is through the "witness" we provide to each other.

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misogynoir2mishpat's avatar

I've recently shared that timely quote of "Black womens is the mules of the world, fer as I can see." I was surprised that this classic quote was unknown to people - but it was also helpful to see the weight of its wisdom as it descended upon the room. Mules are in "communities" where it's presumed they have no burden until others place their burdens upon the mule. It's presumed Black women have no needs of their own - so others can place their burdens upon them. This has been true historically (the Black "mammy" had no real humanity of her own. It was presumed she didn't need to care for her own children or partner, and that she had no needs or wants of her own. But it's time to stop placing undue burdens upon Black women. Instead, we need to understand that "burden bearing" belongs to the entire community. Labeling Black women as strong is simply a rhetorical device to make us complicit in our own pain!

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