If only this was true overall
Melanistic said:
The things I love about black women are... well... all of the above.
We have the skin tone that no tanning salon can match.
We have the most profound strength; in fact, the Queen of all strength- the strength that nursed our souls after being plagued by the whip, the same strength that guided us through slavery, the same strength that lived in those death-boats that slid across the middle passage, the same strength that society has repeatedly tried to dethrone, that strength that society cannot de-throne.
We have the skin tone that no tanning salon can match; the skin tone made under the sun and maintained by the sun since the start of human-kind, since the first man and woman stepped out of the cradle of life (located deep in Africa).
We have the most remarkable types of women, and types of beauty, and beautiful smiles. Look at the smiles of Africa, a place absent of Colgate- don’t we still have the most perfect smiles? And aren't those smiles twice as perfect because they are persistently smiling in the face of starvation, in the face of every disease? Look at the strong melanistic women of your neighborhoods; thick and thin, tall and short- aren't we all different , but yet still beautiful in our different ways.
I love the way black women remain black women. I see the way society has tried to change us into what it wants us to be; and I constantly fall in love with the way black women ignore all the propaganda, and remain true to who we are.
I love the way black women protest. The way our voice gracefully raises, commands attention and respect, then elegantly gets the point across.
I love the way black women age ever so gracefully, on the outside; and age so rapidly internally, meaning our minds are developed and matured years beyond what we look.
Melanistic, your view of Black women is certainly one to make a sister feel proud and very regal. This description is one that reveals your romantic and idealistic views and I don't want you to think this is a criticism of that. But I do think it's important to caution us to not lose sight of our reality either because, sadly, not ALL Black women fit this description. I'm optimistic though, because I want to believe that the great majority of us do.
I'm not trying to destroy your beliefs or bash my sisters but isn't it possible that some Black women do "fall" for the propaganda and don't remain true to who they are? Haven't you ever seen examples of Black women going to great extremes to look like and become someone else? I have. I would hardly say that many of our African sisters living on the Continent are smiling in the face of the devastating diseases brought to their doorstep by our oppressors. How could anyone smile as they watch their loved ones die in great numbers, witness entire populations die, and eventually fall victim to these diseases themselves?
Yes, my sisters are strong and they are all beautiful in my eyes--both physical and spiritual--but we are still human and with that, we come in many forms, not always remaining true to who we are and losing sight of all the possibilities of who we could be. Some of us give up our birthright willingly to conform to someone else's worldview. I love my sisters nonetheless, because without the ones with the lost souls how could the sister warriors ever discover their true strength, power and calling? Because of other's weaknesses she finds her critical need to help her people survive and press forward in our struggle.
I think too another reason that both of these types of sisters are important to our struggle is because they help us to make choices--thank goodness we're not all the same. I find it unfortunate that the media, including material such as Jet and Ebony, etc., focus more on the 'assimilated' sister these days and seldom pay tribute to sisters fighting in the struggle. Body parts of the Black woman are now commercialized and being exploited and some of our sisters find this flattering because something that comes natural to them has to be purchased by others who don't have these features. Have you looked at who mostly graces the covers of these magazines lately? Maybe this doesn't bother other Black women, but it's a little pet peeve of mine that I could go on an on about but I'll step off my soapbox.
So I don't subscribe to the notion that, "once Black, always Black." When one loses their consciousness, what does one then become?
Warrior Sisters unite and consider it your obligation and duty to continue the legacy of our people; we are the ones who should grab the freedom torch, raise it high and light the way for our people and help lead them with our Warrior Brothers to our rightful destination.
Ok, I'm done...for now!