Black 'Girls'

Our conversations about women figures in the Civil Rights Movement like Ella Baker, made me start questioning the impact and motives of Black women in race relations. We saw Ella baker discouraged from work outside of the service industry from people, regardless of their race. Identity is often based off the assumptions made by others, in this case, White men. Black men are typically viewed as angry, wild, and dumb. And identifying as female introduces the gender dynamics saying women are inherently subservient to men. There’s an added piece, as Black womanhood is daunting. Black women and girls are supposed to exist in the United States institutional structure that will continuously discredit them. The National Association of Colored Women (NACW) gave opportunity for women to be united to formalize social welfare services to meet the needs of their respected communities moving forward into the twenty first century. Black women are not protected in the same way as white women. Black girls have been, and continue to be neglected.

They are commodified, because they are not seen as the future of this country. In terms of sticking to the status quo, White women will reproduce the society of the future to fit the patriarchal model of White Supremacy. White fragility is a dangerously sensitive topic in the United States because there is a huge push to protect and preserve the innocence of White women. Black men were lynched when they accused of sexually assaulting a white women. However, in the 18th century and further back, White slave masters have a reputation of using and abusing women Black women and girls. Autonomy over one’s body was taken away from birth because of their skin tone and gender. From this deprivation of choice, White men did whatever they wanted to theses women. In terms of activism, providing support and resources to communities of struggling Black girls will take steps to make leaders and work toward common goals.