Silent Screams

When discussing injustices against the Black community, the victims discussed are almost always Black men or boys. Even when discussing instrumental figures of The Civil Rights Movement, again Black men are given homage. This is not to discredit nor put down Black men (the world does that enough) but it should be said that when you erase Black women, you erase history. Malcolm X said “The most disrespected person in America is the black woman. The most unprotected person in America is the black woman. The most neglected person in America is the black woman.” and I find this to be true on both sides of the fence. Meaning Black women are not only put down by the world around them, but also painted as angry, bitter, and ghetto within our own community. Whether a professional, celebrity, mother, a hood rat, or even the First Lady of the United States, the world or Black men could find a negative stigma to attach to said Black woman. Due to these stigmas, Black women are seen as strong and often stripped of their vulnerability which in turns silences their voice. This can be dangerous, especially when we as Black women are trying to express the weight we feel from the world or even express the violence we experience from Black men. Author, Ntozake Shange was able to break her silence and express her emotions through writing “For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide/When The Rainbow is Enuf” a “choreopoem” about the harsh experiences and violence Black women face at the hands of Black men. As we discussed this piece in class, we had a grieving revelation, the same experiences Shange wrote of in 1975, are still prevalent within our community today. What will it take for Black men to listen to us? Will Black men ever listen to us? Prayerfully it does not take the violence against their mothers, daughters, or sisters to finally hear our screams.