BLAFROKAN - Many Nations, One People

The MindFK: Expected to “Persevere” in a Lifelong Abusive Relationship With Systemic Racism-Sexism

The “poise” & “grace” of Black women like the Honorable Ketanji Brown Jackson who are expected to “persevere”.

Can we talk about this for a moment from a compassionate and mental health point of view? How many of us Black women are “acting” or “performing” the #resilience and #persevere narrative that is expected from us VS. somatically and consciously believing in that narrative?

At what point can we exist without having to be the martyr for an on-going cause to “prove” to White USAmerica, our right to have joy, fairness, and a life without having to be the emotional mammy mule?

We have spent hundreds of years– to the present– trying to “prove” how “human” we are. It actually feels like a never-ending trap in which we are let go, and then trapped again, let go, and then trapped again. A super duper mindfuck that we are constantly expected to participate in with “poise” and “grace” during our entire existence.

Then, there is the “honeymoon” period because we finally got that degree, were promoted, got that coveted job after the abuse etc…and then,

BOOM!

the honeymoon period ends and we are trapped again and have to, once again, “gracefully” and delicately try to prove to the abusive system that we deserve to be treated as 5/5, not 3/5, human.

Do we only observe the exterior; “The act”?

I am skeptical that most of us Black women and girls in the USA are “okay” when it comes to that emotional and mental toll/burden of always having to perform “perseverance”. Often when we mention this internal ongoing pain, grief, disorientation, etc from this life-long process of “acting”, many Black folk say it’s taboo because it supposedly shows white society that they won at defeating you and putting you back in your place.

Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson wipes away tears as she listens to U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) speak on the third day of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearings on her nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court, on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., March 23, 2022.

Dr. A. Breeze Harper

Dr. A. Breeze Harper

Anti-racism keynote speaker, trainer, and strategic consultant. 15+ years DEI expertise. Mompreneur.
Founder of Black women owned DEI business.

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