Apr 1

Apr 1 Is Gay the New Black? Why we Should be Allies Instead of Enemies

ne of the most baffling things I have ever encountered is the prevalence of black homophobia. In my mind, that’s pretty much an oxymoron. It’s hard to understand how someone who is discriminated against daily, solely based on the colour of their skin, could be so dead set on hating another person who is discriminated against because of who they happen to love. Think of how bizarre it sounds to say, “You can’t hate me because I’m black! That’s wrong!” then moments later, spew hate-filled words at a pair of men in love.

The other day, someone asked my opinion on the comparison of the fight for black civil rights to the LGBQT community’s battle for equal marriage rights. Her argument was that it was disrespectful to compare years of institutionalized racism, brutality and slavery to the discrimination that gays face in today’s society. It was a comparison I had encountered before. If you do a quick Google search for “gay vs. black” or “gay is the new black” you get an overwhelming number of hits. This idea isn’t new, nor is the upset it has caused.

Dec 13

Dec 13 My "Black Girl" is On and it's Turned Up Loud

SweetTee

Hashtag Black

[This is the first poem I've ever posted on this blog. I've always found that my opinions and views on black issues are well-expressed in the form of poetry, because defiance--and nearly all my thoughts in this department are defiant--is an art. For this blog, I've stuck to prose because it allows me to put more words on the page, but poetry is a fount of feelings, and my feelings here are strong.

I am tired of defending myself from the negative space that the combination of my race and gender subjects me to. I am tired of having to prove that I am a good "black girl", before others can slap me with the bad "black girl" label. I am tired of the "black girl" label being a bad thing at all. So here's my definition of black girl, whispered defiantly to those who disagree, spoken triumphantly to those who understand, and written straight from the heart.]

Aug 9

Aug 9 A Word or Two In Defense of Black Women

SweetTee

Hashtag Black

I don’t know when it happened, but someone declared it open season on black women and shots are being fired with extreme prejudice. I can’t tell you the last day I went without reading or hearing some pathetically unfunny joke about black women, but I can tell you this – I’m sick of it. I am tired of Black women being the butt of jokes that belittle, demean and devalue us. It upsets me most because a lot of those jokes are being made by Black men who, if no one else, should understand the value of Black women. So “brothers,” this is my open letter to you.

Before writing this piece, I was tempted to say that I don`t care about Black men who hate Black women, simply because I feel that if you can`t appreciate me for what I am, beyond what stereotypes or appearances suggest, it’s really your loss. But in the case of the degradation of Black women, this is too widespread to ignore and I feel obligated to care.