Jezebels, Sapphires, and Mammys

So which one are you? You've got three to choose from: you can either be Sapphire the rude overbearing bitchy, loud and malicious black woman or you can be Jezebel an over sexualized promiscuous whore and last but not least you have the choice of being Mammy, a domesticated and nurturing "yes-a-mam" woman. Jezebel, Mammy and Sapphire once prominent caricatures since the time of slavery are now real life breathing characters within our society. Despite being an age old topic of discussion within the black community; if ever the discussion was needed along with a solution to the problem, now is the time.

After reading a blurb on  Coco and Creme's online magazine about the depiction of black women’s bodies and sharing the link on facebook, a friends response was that the article was a little too vague, which I had to agree with. I'd like to give the writer the benefit of the doubt (it is an age old issue) however with a topic such as this its not to be taken lightly and have the surface of it just touched. Thinking about the state of black women today it dawned on me that despite trying to disprove these stereotypes about us we have in fact brought into and now embody the abovementioned caricatures. For each of the three caricatures I can give many examples of black women who have in fact materialized into these caricatures.

Thank You Aaron McGruder

In light of all the propaganda relating to black women from being lazy, obese and prone to disease and allegedly the last to get married, I was more than thrilled to watch the latest episode of Aaron McGruder's "The Boondocks". Tending to step on toes and as some would say airing our dirty laundry while having his audience in an uproar at times, McGruder brought justice to the soiled reputation of black women in America. Disregarding Americas doctrines as it pertains to black women, McGruder spoke for the women who are tired of the ill fortuned promulgations through his depiction of Ebony Brown. McGruder brought life to what the media chooses not to barrage its audience members with, the exact opposite in fact- hard working, healthy, educated black women who play an active role in their community yet are not independent of good quality men. Thank You Aaron McGruder.

The End of Black History Month

When Carter G Woodson in 1926 implemented Negro Week it served as a means to teach and remind us that that the efforts and lives of many African Americans were far beyond just the all too frequent teachings to blacks only being slaves in history. Negro week was implemented to remind us that we come from great ancestral lineages and not simply a history of bondage. If these were Woodsons intention why is that the is that the African American diaspora in its current state? We are lagging behind in areas such as education with lowest illiteracy rate among other races yet surpassing other races with offensively high numbers of us behind prison bars or emaciated by the virus and the many other health disparities we suffer from. Does black history serve us any use today and how so? If black history served us any use as Woodson initially intended why is that with time the Afican American diaspora only seems to abysmally decline in its conditions?

The End of Black History Month?

With civil rights movement only occurring 50 years ago, when did we drop the ball and lost site of King's Dream...or have we attained his dream? Somewhere along the lines the torch failed to be passed onto to the generation after that of the civil rights era only leading to puppet civil rights leaders such as Al Sharpton and the likes.  When and how do we in the African American diaspora begin better ourselves as a people?

February Officially Dubbed HAITIAN HISTORY MONTH

Many people only know Haiti for the poverty that is often portrayed through the media. However many fail to realize that Haiti has a rich history and much of its poverty is due to foreign intervention on the island.  In light of the recent of events that  have taken place in Haiti and the interest of so many in the peninsula of Haiti, now is a great time to stimulate the minds of so many who are ignorant to Haiti’s rich history. In an effort to combat this ignorance to the islands history, next month, BLACK HISTORY MONTH,  I will dedicate my blog entries to the enlighten of those who are interested in the history of Haiti and how the island came to be in its current state. I find it contradictory that in school, when learning about Black history, often times there is little to no information on Haiti , especially since it is the first black republic of the world. The month of February on Black Girl with an Opinion, has officially been dubbed HAITIAN HISTORY MONTH.  

The REVOLUTION has officially begun…I leave you with these two quotes. Be Blessed.  

 

“History, despite its wrenching pain, cannot be unlived, but if faced with courage, need not be lived again.”
-- Maya Angelou

 

“Until lions have their historians, tales of the hunt shall always glorify the hunters.”
-- African Proverb

Haiti Relief Effort: A Weekend of Service For Our Country Men

"L'Union Fait La Force" is the phrase that comes to mind when I think of this past weekend 01/22-1/24. 100 plus students in the  of  United Haitian Students of Florida all came together for one cause...Haiti. We all came together in a collective effort to help out with the Haiti relief efforts. We were involved in the packaging of clothing, perishable food items, and water at a local Miami warehouse. We also took part in a benefit concert where people of Haitian descent and other nationalities donated cases of water to send to the victims of the Earthquake in Port Au prince. Haitian musicians and bands ranging from T-Vice, Harmonik, Alan Cave and the likes all came together in a unified effort to help raise the funds necessary to provide Port Au Prince's victims with the provisions to continue life in the so called "tent city" of the capital. Despite the tears that the were shed from the disbelief that some of us were still in, there were also tears of hope that were shed for the people of Port Au Prince, hope that they may be holding onto,  hope that we will carry and hold onto forever in our hearts should they lose it.

Click for more pics of the weekend

More Pics 

HAITI ON MY MIND...

Instead of Georgia On My Mind, the tune that has been playing in my head for the past week is HAITI ON MY MIND...the tune  resonates so deep with my heart at times I find it hard to sleep...

DELaSoul

The Rebirth Of A Nation: The New Haiti

As we mourn the death of the many victims of Haiti's earthquake we also celebrate the lives that were spared at the hands of God. We not only celebrate the lives that were spared but we also celebrate the UNITY that has brought many Haitians and non-Haitians together in the relief efforts going on in Haiti. It is true that Haiti is "l'union fait la force" (strength through unity). I don't have to tell you how resilient of a people we are, there was proof  all over the news as they depicted the many natives of the island rescuing others trapped under the rubble before any relief arrived on the island or how they still had church the following Sunday despite not having a home to return to. Some may say that the city of Port Au Prince is broken, but they fail to realize that despite the current circumstances of Haiti's inhabitants, they're spirits are not broken, the spirits of their Haitian brothers and sisters in the United States are not broken but have been  reinforced with faith and hope. If ever there was a time to be proud of being Haitian, NOW is the time, NOW is the time that we reach out lending hands and take the initiative to help out in Haiti; if ever Haiti needed us, it is NOW. Yes, Port Au Prince Haiti is in a despairing state, however now isn't time that we sit and watch with broken heart what is going on in Haiti, NOW is the time we pick up the torch and light the way for so many of the victims that may be in a dark place at the moment, NOW is the time that we become PROACTIVE and start on our journey toward the REBIRTH OF A NATION: THE NEW HAITI.

I leave you with this quote,

"I submit to you if a man hasn't discovered something he will die for, he isn't fit to live."
-Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, Speech in Detroit, June 23,1963

What are you willing to die for?

Be Blessed!