Friday, March 11, 2016

Final Draft: The Life of an Intelligent Black Woman

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.

MLA Works Cited




Works Cited

Harris, Elizabeth A. "20% of New York State Students Opted Out of Standardized Tests This Year." The New York Times. The New York Times, 12 Aug. 2015. Web. 11 Mar. 2016.
Ngwe, Job Elom, Elechi, and O. Oko. "Human Trafficking: The Modern Day Slavery of the 21st Century." Questia. Nov. 2012. Web. 11 Mar. 2016.
Pinder, and Patrice Juliet. "ERIC - The "Black Girl Turn" in Research on Gender and Science Education: Toward Exploring and Understanding the Early Experiences of Black Females. A Literature Review Paper, Online Submission, 2008-Jan." ERIC. Jan. 2008. Web. 11 Mar. 2016.
Stanton, Brandon. "Humans Of New York." Humans of New York. 8 Mar. 2016. Web. 11 Mar. 2016.
"What Is the School-to-Prison Pipeline?" American Civil Liberties Union. 11 Mar. 2008. Web. 11 Mar. 2016.