CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW?
It seems like I’ve heard it all my life about black girls being loud and it equating to having a nasty attitude. Even when we are on a wine tour, enjoying our time full of laughter, it makes others uncomfortable (See this story here). Can you imagine that? The laughter of a black woman makes the lives of others miserable. Amazing. Growing up, women are taught to be seen and not heard, but as a black woman, it went double for you. Anytime a black woman voices her opinion, its deemed as LOUD or ghetto, we are seen as “always having a problem with everything” or even worse, difficult to be with. So what it is with you #LoudBlackGirls? Why is it anytime a black woman is loud it’s negative? Better yet, what is the definition of “loud” in pertaining to black women? Since no one has the answer, how about black women answer that for you.
As always, Twitter came through in the clutch and made #LoudBlackGirl a trending topic, but it wasn’t for the “normal” negative reasons, this time, it was to celebrate our LOUD voices. The hashtag was started by @FeministaJones, who was moved by Eric Garner’s daughter, Erica, who felt her voice was being silenced during the Town Hall meeting with President Obama. Erica felt the need to be “belligerent just to be heard” as she put to Buzzfeed.
Via @FeministaJones:
“Erica Garner said she had to be belligerent to be heard. I have a thread somewhere about Black girls/women and the “loud” stereotype. When I read that from her, it resonated for me. When I hear #LoudBlackGirls, I think of how many of us are routinely silenced by violence. I think of how Maya Angelou was mute after rape. I think of how she became a #LoudBlackGirl through her writing and activism. I think of how disregarded Black girls are when they are treated as sexual objects for dangerous predators in our families. I think of how BW are spoken over by non-Black ppl AND by men, all of the time and how, over time, the rage builds up. The stress of adhering to expectations of silence is killing us. Have you seen our health stats? It isn’t all abt food. I heartily encourage Black girls and women to be as loud and vocal and “ratchet” and “ghetto” and whatever else they say #LoudBlackGirls. For some of us, we find our voices in the written word. Others in painting. Others in dance. Others in activism. And more. So I’m here for it. I’m here for Black women shouting whatever is on their minds. I’m here for high volume convos #LoudBlackGirls. Few voices are as systematically silenced as Black women’s. Yet we slay damned near everything we’re given access to. And THAT, my friends, is the root of the issue. Folks envy and fear Black women bc of our ability to SLAY everything. So all they can do is try to silence us so we don’t steal their shine and their power.
Nah.
We not having it.#LoudBlackGirls“
The hashtag caught on quick and took twitter and blogs by storm. If you search the hashtag, you will be flooded by tweets filled with black women embracing their voices. So today, Queen, let’s continue that trend. Below are a few ways to show off your LOUD and exude even more #BlackGirlMagic into the world.
Check out the 10 things you should be doing as a #LoudBlackGirl