Is She Angry or Is She Black?

I got on Google the other day and typed only four words “why are black women”.  I didn’t finish the sentence and allowed Google to reveal the most common search result to me.  Surprised, I found there was only one result and as expected it was the ever-upsetting stereotype of the Angry Black Woman.

The Black Woman is the most looked down upon and disrespected demographic within the female race worldwide. The degradation of AA women is alive even amongst cultures that require their women to remain hidden, silent, or even condemned to death at birth.

To set the record straight, black women aren’t angry. They’re human. Just like any other human being, we hurt, we cry, we yell, and we break.  But we also get up! We laugh, we smile, we joke, and we shine! What is the difference between an angry white woman versus an angry black woman? Could it be there is no difference at all?

January 21st 2017 was the day of the Women’s March on NYC. On this day, many “angry” women came together to protest the disaster that is our reality. The mess of a misogynistic President, that now rules our country. On this day, a body of women stood united and unapologetic in their emotions. No one race more upset than the other.

In D.C, the same march was held a week prior. Same approach, same agenda, yet something was different and later went viral. A black woman holding a sign that said “Don’t forget: White Women voted for Trump”. As true as this statement was, it urged a sense of outrage and accusations that stemmed back to “Why are Black Women so angry?”  Could it be she wasn’t angry as opposed to an advocate for two movements (Black Lives Matter)? Despite the massive crowd yelling, rallying, displaying creative signage, and expressing heightened emotions, Angela Peoples was the only woman labeled as “controversial”.

 When a Black Woman expresses any form of non-passive aggressive truth, emotion, or opinion she is labeled controversial. We are referred to as angry.  But we are strong. And that same strength gives us the courage to be unafraid to stand firm in what we believe. The problem isn’t that we’re angry it’s that we are proud in a world that needs us to be broken.

Written by: Raven Noelle