English
102 The
Life of an Intelligent Black Woman Alexis Martin
Kristen
Kaschock 02/12/16
According to definition,
identity is the fact of being who or what a person or thing is. Individuals
embody multiple identities. One of my dominant self-identifiers is being an
intelligent, black woman. In America, black women are already double minorities.
In America I am
looked down upon for being black and underestimated for being a woman. I face
sexism and racism on a daily basis. This intersectionality,
in unescapable. As
a result, there are many exclusive obstacles that I am presented with when
trying to achieve greatness. This study was performed to help others understand
what it is like to be a member of this identity in modern-day America,
highlight the history of intelligent black women, and analyze the applied
definition of intelligence.
Black women have a rich yet heart breaking history. Though
it begins way before this, my focus is the 1600s and beyond. During this time, many
black women in America were forced into slavery. During slavery, black women
had little to no rights and were treated very inhumane. As slaves, black women
had to work long hours for no pay. They were called racial slurs, raped by
their masters, and separated from their families. Black women had to raise
their master’s children but could not tend to their own. Though, since their
lives were often at risk, they put in their very best effort. As a result, many
of the slaves would grow to love their master’s children as their own.
Consequently, when these children grew up they would treat that very woman with
otter disrespect, continuing the cycle of hatred. This was very heartbreaking
to many black women. In some cases, this constant betrayal from the babies they
raised caused depression and even lead to early deaths (Pinder 62).
Although, blacks are not in legal, physical bondage today,
I think we are still enslaved mentally. Both of the women that I interviewed,
Jade and Lara, share this viewpoint. Furthermore, Jade said, “Black women in a
literal sense aren’t in bondage today. But we still face some discrimination
based on stereotypes.” A lot of the stereotypes we experience today, stem from
prejudices verses actual facts. Ngwe wrote an article making a comparison between
slavery during the 1800s to slavery during the 21st century. He
reiterated that, “Modern day slavery differs remarkably from ancient slavery in
several ways according to Bales and Cornell” (2008). Ngwe has done prominent
research and as a result, he assures us that slavery is still in existence
today. Modern-day slavery does not have to involve chains and whips for oppression
is still the outcome.
Slavery has now been
modernized so it is considered legal. Modern-day slavery is indirect but it
still results in targeting minorities and placing them in bondage. For example,
The United State government enforces the school-to-prison pipeline. This refers
to “the policies and practices that push our
nation's schoolchildren, especially our most at-risk children, out of
classrooms and into the juvenile and criminal justice systems” (What Is 2008). The number of U.S.
prisons created is based upon the number of children that do poorly on
standardized tests in the third grade. For example, only 35% of inner-city kids
in New York passed the standardized math test (Harris 2015). Instead of the
government using funding to try to help get these students additional
assistance they use this data to support their proposals for building more
prisons. These prisons serve as modern day slavery for although they are legal
they hold young men and women captive and deprive them of the necessary
education and tools in which they need to achieve success. These
institutionalized setbacks cause those who are unaffected, the majority, to
have a distorted view of the victims, the minority.
Moreover, although prejudices and
judgments stem from various places, a lot of them come from within our own
black communities. Unfortunately, most women are never taught to have pride in themselves. For example, as a child my parents always built me up and
encouraged me to do my best. They instilled good morals in me such as hard work
and dedication. They supported my
education, from elementary school all the way though college. Though
unfortunately everyone does not have a support system at home.
Often times black parents come from poor and uneducated
backgrounds so they do not know anything else to teach their child. As a
result, when some children present their parents with their elaborate dreams
and goals they may receive a negative reaction simply because the parents do
not know how to support them. According to an old adage, parents can
usually give their kids more than they had but they do not know how to raise
them to actually be more than they were. As a result, black girls are often
materialistically stable but they do not receive adequate emotional nourishment
from home.
This is a problem that needs to be solved within the
family. One can not rely on the education system to instill the proper morals into
our children. It is the parent’s job to teach their daughters to be confident
and love themselves. The majority of daily interactions are at home, and
according to research, “Common
to all feminist traditions is the assertion that both science and gender, and
to some extent racism, are social constructions that are constructed by
individuals based on their daily interactions with others” (Pinder 65). Racism, including how a woman views her own race, starts at
home. Young black women must be taught to love themselves by the people that
they interact with on a daily basis, their family.
Often times self love can be hard. Even when instilled in
us at an early age, the environment in which we live, can have a detrimental
impact on one’s foundation. In my experience, I can go into a situation with
confidence yet still result in defeat. For example, when I was in the fourth
grade, I took great pride in being an intelligent black young lady. Though,
when I transferred to an all white school I began to forget who I was. I could
only identify myself by my skin color, for this is how I was perceived to
everyone around me. I was raised to love myself and my dark skin but the racism
that I experienced choked me and smuggled out all remnants of my pride.
In my experience,
although having a strong foundation can help, it will ultimately deteriorate
when one is surrounded by racism and prejudice. This is my account of the first
day of fourth grade:
As I walked
into the room, pencils dropped and silence clinched the air. Everyone turned
and gave me an awkward stare. "Class, this is Alexis" said my plump
pale principal. I galloped to the front of the room, grinning from ear to ear,
to meet my new fourth grade teacher. Though when I realized that everyone was
staring at the new girl in the pleated skirt with braided hair my countenance
changed very quickly. In my heart, there was a growing of despair. I began to
doubt myself. What if I'm not smart? I clearly stuck out like a sore thumb in
this room full of white chums. I could hear my heart pounding in my chest. The
smell of fear was in the air. I could feel my face heat up as my eyes began to
swell. How would I get through this? This classroom of hell. The scarlet fire
in the blue eyes of the boys and girls gave me the chills. Although I walked
into my new class with confidence prepared to conquer the day, in that moment I
felt as minuscule as an insect. As I received hateful glares from the eyes of
my peers, I ran out of the room and burst into tears.
This personal experience
depicts what it is like to have one’s confidence destroyed by racism at a young
age.
It is the year 2016, and America’s
First Lady herself is a highly intelligent black woman yet she still receives a
lot of judgment and aversion. To some people, despite her degrees from
Princeton and Harvard, she is undeserving of this office simply because she is
black. As expressed by Lara, “To be a black woman in 2016 means navigating the
world knowing that people will always perceive you to be a certain way, even if
you’re not.” This statement also proves very true in my own life. For example,
within the Drexel community, many have assumptions that my enrollment in such a prestigious institution, must be due to affirmative
action or some other outside forces. People very seldom actually examine a
black woman in today’s society without judgment. Whether this judgment happens
internally, outward, direct or indirect, these prejudices are still very
evident in our culture.
In addition to preconceptions, the
expectations of a black woman even within her own community are often unfair.
In my experience, I have found that this is because black men do not have the
same high regard for their black women as we do for them. My peer, Jade, agreed
with me. She said:
The biggest
expectation of black women is being able to stay strong and stick by their men
at all times. Being a “strong black woman” has been a stereotype ingrained in
the black women of our society. We are supposed to take everything that is
thrown at us and pretend that we are happy and ok. If black women show any
emotions toward some of the obstacles they face, whether good or bad, they are
deemed an ‘angry black woman’. As far as sticking by their man no matter what,
this mainly deals with the notion that black woman should be with black men
even if they don’t want to be with us. It’s ok for black men to date women of
other races but as soon a black woman turns around and does the same thing, she
is considered a sell out.
In addition to voicing the expectations of black women,
Jade also expanded on that of black men. She highlights the double
standard within the black community. Woman are expected to behave a certain
way, whereas men are allowed to do whatever they please and expect no negative
retaliation from us black women. We are just supposed to support them even in
their wrong doings.
It is often hard
for a successful, intelligent, black woman to form a relationship with a black
male. This is due to the aforementioned gender roles and the higher-education
gap between men and women. Though it is not appropriate many women are viewed
below the man in a relationship versus as the man’s equal. As a result, if the
woman is more educated or successful than the man, this can lead to animosity.
In a Humans of New York article, a
custodian voices his opinion of his role in his relationship with his wife,
“the highest ranking black women in New York education” (Stanton 2013). He admits, “She was making five times more than me. It
bothered me at first. It took some counseling to convince me that she hadn’t
‘settled’ for me. I’d been raised on the idea that the man was supposed to
provide. But eventually I came around to the idea that money wasn’t the only
way to provide” (Stanton 2013). Many people are raised to think that for a family
to function it can only be structured one way, with the man as the head.
Furthermore, it is a widespread misconception that if the man is not
financially superior to his wife he is no longer the head. Some would even
argue that he is a burden to his wife. I disagree for as Stanton said, money is
not the only way to provide for your wife.
On average
black women are more educated than black men. Though does that make us more
intelligent? Some would argue that intelligence and education are not the same.
I personally agree with this. I feel as though education pertains to standardized
knowledge whereas intelligence is knowing how to analyze and apply that
knowledge. With that being said, I do believe that though they are different
there is a strong correlation between the two. Lara feels as though it is
possible to have just one without the other but Jade disagrees. Jade argues
that they are the same for, “Going to school builds a person’s intelligence.”
Though this is true, in my opinion, going to school is not the only way to
build intelligence.
Through this study, I learned
how to sincerely reflect on my experiences pertaining to being an intelligent
black woman. After much analyzing, I was able to construct my thoughts in an organized
matter and critically reflect upon my experiences. The information I obtained
is organized in this paper in an effort to help others understand what it is
like to be a member of my identity in modern-day America, highlight the history
of intelligent black women, and analyze the applied definition of intelligence.
