Defining the Black Women’s Voice
Introduction
Over the hears, there have been many stereotypes that have been associated with black women. Some of these stereotypes have become so engraved in people’s mind to an extent, many have ended up believing that it is actually the true position. It is clear that over the years there have been a number of women that have come out as heroines to speak on behave of the rest of the women. Even though may have their own shortcomings, they have been able to deliver a lot when it comes to the issue empowerment as well as advocating for equality. The study seeks to give a historical background of the issue as well as highlight some of the developments that have been achieved over the years as a means of ensuring that the position of these women is indeed enhanced.
History of the Black Woman’s Voice: What is the Black Woman’s Voice
Over the years, there have been many obstacles that have hindered the black women from projecting their voices. A huge number of black women have not been able to secure high paying jobs despite the high levels of education. It has also been stated that a huge number of black women have been able unable to secure jobs even with favorable jobs compared to their white counterparts. Over the years there have been a number of black women that have been able to come up and serve as the voice of the black women over the years. Some of the most well profound names have been the likes of Lorraine Hansberry, Queen Latifah as well as Toni Morrison among many others.
When it came to the case of Lorraine Hansberry, right from the response she gave after her play won the New York Drama Circle Critics Award in the year 1959 when she was barely 29 years it was clear that she was the voice that would be of much value to the black women and humanity at large. When some people wanted to associate the play with a given color, it has been established that her response was a unifying one which argued that the play was about people and “Negroes” were also people hence a point of equalization. Even though the story had been customized to address the life of young people who lived in Southside, there are a number of things that resonated with many challenges that the black women were being subjected to. In the play even though the black lady had purchased the house in white neighborhood using the money she had gotten from the insurance firm following the husband’s death, the white neighbors did not really want the family to live there. These are some of the many challenges that many American of black skin were being subjected to. It was even worse when the person in question was a woman.
Even though Lorraine Hansberry had moved to the house in the white neighborhood on the basis of merit in that she had managed to get there, the white neighbors ended up attacking the house all because of her race which was a huge challenge. In Lorraine Hansberry’s letter to her mother she clearly stated that the reason for the play was to explain to to the rest of the people that the black women were equally complicated just like the rest of the women. It also stated that they equally had their challenges or mixed up and downtrodden just like the rest of the world hence there was no need for anyone to look down upon them on the ground of their skin color. Even though she died in 1965 aged 34 years, the play “A Raisin in the Sun” managed to create a huge social and cultural change by confronting some of the issues that were affecting the black women that many find it hard to address.
Queen Latifah has been another black who has been a great voice for the black women. This has been based on the fact that she has used her talent and career as a Jazz Musician to be able to voice her opinions about the black women and some of the things she feels that should be advocated for if there is need to achieve some form of fairness with regardless to the women of color. Instead of simply blaming other people for the misfortunes that have befallen the black people, she has certainly been able to come up with alternative ways of addressing the issues without having to act or behave as the victims. This has been anchored on the fact that she has been able to advise the black community more so the black women to address the misogynist, violent and vulgar rap lyrics as a ways of promoting and improving their brand perception as women of substance. She believes that a number of the stereotypes that these people are subjected to have mainly been linked to the blank women.
According to Queen Latifah, the most effective way of the black women presenting themselves and defending what they believe in against the numerous stereotypes that they are subjected to is by them being able to address the sources or the basis of the stereotypes which will then be key in liberating them based on the fact that the moment they sing and associate themselves with some of the things they used to complain about the more they stuck and the more people called them about based on the same (Cooper, 1988). For example, Queen Latifah believed that idea of black women refereeing to black male as niggers was a huge reason why the non-black people ended up calling them the same and when they did they termed it as being racist when in reality they were the very people that were doing the same thing. The fact that she advocated for the involvement of young people in leadership was a key sign that she believed in the potential of people regardless of gender. To her it was not about who makes the decision are long as they were made in the interest of the common majority. Latifah believed that every black woman had a voice and certainly needed to use their voice for positive good.
Another great voice of the black women has been the Toni Morrison. Despite dying in August 2019, Morrison has certainly been referred to many as being one of the most fearless voice of the black women. She advocated for the inclusion of all the people that make up the American history. This is based on the understanding that there were so many cases where the African Americans among other women of color were actually omitted from the American history (Mayer, 2017). It was the likes of Morrison that made a case for the inclusion of all the people that made up the United States. It was Morrison who advocated for equality when it came to representation of the ideas as well as the manner in which the black community was presented.
When one explores some of the books that have been written by Toni Morrison, it is clear that a number of black women mostly those from poor backgrounds have been able to exhibit a number of characters. The focus on the issue of spiritual connection has been key in the stories. The experience of the poor black women was unique and varied based on the individual. The voices of these women were voice of the women that helped in explaining the role and the position of spirituality in matters to do with how it influenced the lives of black women. It was clear that through Morrison one was able to see how much struggle the poor black women go through for them to overcome their challenges. It also explains the burden of religion and how it has been able to the life of many people. The lifestyle of the poor black women is also another key that Morrison managed to explain. According to her, a huge number of people did not know the fact that these set of women had to balance between their spirituality with the dream lives that they yearned for.
Challenges
In the quest to make an impact to the society they live in, these women just like any other black woman have been faced with numerous challenges that certainly affected their ability to get things done. Some of the areas of things that have been of great challenge have been highlighted as the issue of marriage, work place, community outreach, women rights as well as motherhood. It is the ability to overcome these challenges that made these set of women aside since it gives me an opportunity to address what most of them really feared or where afraid of addressing.
Marriages
To many women of substance, instead of being victimized by their partners in the name of marriage they prefer to divorce so that they can be able to live free and be able to express themselves. It is clear that a huge number of people have been victims of abuse but instead of doing the honorable thing and ask for divorce a huge number of black women would rather stick around which in most cases is not usually healthy. As a way of setting the example, Lorraine Hansberry was married only for nine years and divorced. It is clear that the divorce was not just any other decision but it was a way of liberating herself from what she believed was letting her down (Hansberry, 1984). This is justified by the fact that after the device she continued working together with her ex-husband. There are cases of black women who have been in abusive marriages for over 20 years but still do not have the courage to face their fears and ask for divorce. This culture has been on for years which has been a huge challenge. To a number of people, it is better to remain in an abusive marriage than asking for divorce and be vilified for having had a failed marriage.
Many black women are indeed in abusive relationships but they hardly get the energy and the strength they need to walk out of such marriages. The percentage of women murdered by their partners or whose deaths were as a result of their marriages. It is clear that the black women have been able to gain much from the life of Lorraine Hansberry in that the confidence she had to move out of the marriage was key in helping them have the courage they need to ask for divorce when they felt that they were being abuse or the things were not really working for them. There was need to confront one’s fear and face them head on when it came to the issue of abusive marriages.
When it comes to Queen Latifah, it is clear that the issue of marriage has not been able to hold her back. Prior to her marriage to Eboni Nichols, there were very few women who were able to come up and state whether they were straight or not. The fact that Queen Latifah was courageous enough to announce or make it known that she was dating a woman and not a man as a society would have expected was key in liberating many women who were in similar situations but believed that the society may not have accepted such situations (Beauboeuf-Lafontant, 2009). It is clear that black women need to come up and be proud of who they are and the choices that they have made as a way of ensuring that they project their voices based on what they feel and not what the society would like to see which is indeed a huge challenge that has hampered the efforts of many that are in relationships or marriages they feel are not conventional. It is clear that there is need for such people to understand it is about them and not the rest of the people around them that should solely be the basis of the decisions that they came up with.
Just like the case with Lorraine Hansberry, it was clear that Toni Morrison also opted to have a device only six years into her marriage. This was a bold move based on the fact that it was one of the biggest challenge that many black women were not ready to let go. Many opted to cling on when there was every sign that it would have better for them to quit. It is clear that there has been a huge number of women that are struggling to date with marriage which has been one of the main undoing of the black women (Carson, 1969). Many have ended up being so obsessed with the need to protect their marriages to an extent they have ended up struggling in other areas of their lives all in the name of protecting their marriage. There is no need in someone giving up on their career all in the name of the husband decided so. It is necessary to understand that there are many other things that happen ahead of marriage or some that should be given the opportunity to focus on other pillars of their lives instead of concentrating all their lives to save marriages that are beyond repair.
For those that are in marriages that do not look conventional, it is clear that the conventionality of the marriage is based on the parties involved. It is only an issue if the said marriage violates the laws that are in place to guide marriages so marrying or having an affair with someone of same sex as it was the case with Queen Latifah. There is no harm in coming out and proudly talking about the relations one has even when it is not conventional. There is no need to live in secrecy when one should actually be free and enjoy themselves regardless of what people thought or believed.
Work Place
There have been many cases of victimization when it comes to the workplace discrimination. Some of the most affected group of people have been black women. It is clear that this is usually done when it comes to promotions, allocation of duties as well as the manner in which things are done. It has been established that a huge number of people have been unable to effectively do another of things (Morrison, 1994). All because of the fears of losing that work that many have been victimized all in the name of trying to make things work. There has been a limited number of black women that have been ready to try and challenge their status more so when it comes to the issue of promotions, appraisal or any other work related things that may be used as the basis of discrimination. It is clear that there is need to understand the reason behind the decisions that have been made and how they would have been able to make things work.
Wage inequalities at workplace
Retrieved form Business Insider
Based on the above graph, it is clear that the black women are indeed the fourth in rank when it comes to the amount of money they earn from the process of income. It is clear that there is need to highlight the fact that most of the black women at workplace hardly addresses some of these inequalities in the fear of getting jobs. This explains why they would earn way less for the same job when compared against the whites as well as the Asian women as well as the white male who certainly earn the highest despite the fact that they may be doing the same job as their black women counterparts.
Queen Latifah encouraged the black women to fight against the old school thinking when it comes to work. She advised them to go all out and fight for what they believed in for that was the only way that they stood a chance of ensuring that things worked out for them. It was necessary to ensure that they were able to fight for what they believed in even when it came to work. Her idea that the women could effectively work in the army and even get to go to deadly missions such as the one in Iraq was an honor to the black women and it gave women in general the opportunity to deliver how effective things should be done. There is no need for a woman to complain of lack of work opportunities when they have equal qualifications as their male counterparts. Toni Morrison on the other hand believed that the black women had the chance to fight for the space and in case of any form of discrimination they would be better placed to press discrimination charges against the perpetrators. It is clear that according to Lorraine Hansberry, it is clear and necessary for the black women to be able to prioritize their career ahead of much. This is clear when Lorraine Hansberry said that it was always good to give the very best when it comes to work regardless of who one was working for.
It is in line with this that the issue of income inequalities that one should be able to understand why the contributions of the likes of Queen Latifah among other women have been key in ensuring that one can be able to see the huge disparities that exist between these two set of worlds that the black women live compared to the world that the rest of the working class women live in. There is need for people to advocate for equality in terms of the quality of life that they would want to live when it comes to the normal lives that one would indeed want to lead.
Income disparities
Retrieved from Urban. Org.
Despite the fact that the level of education may be similar basis of hiring people, it is clear that a huge number of people suffer from the income disparities this is a huge issue since it may simply be addressed by them raising their voices and talking of the challenges that they face. There is also need for them to come up with a way of ensuring that they are able to get solutions to their current problems (Beauboeuf-Lafontant, 2009). This is based on the understanding that there is need to ensure that the black women are bold enough to address the issues by voicing their concerns instead of simply worrying themselves in the fear of being fired. There is need to address the concerns instead of complaining and doing nothing about it as it has been the case in many companies.
The is need for the black women to stand out and fight for the rights at workplace. This is anchored on the understanding that many times many give up even before starting instead of giving their very best. It is necessary for them to be committed regardless of the challenges but at the same time fight for what they believe in more so when they are being discriminated against or when they are being taken advantage of. There is need to fight for fairness and equal opportunities for all. It is clear that a huge number of people have been suffering in silence where they are misused at work but they hardly speak against hence the reason many take them for granted. There is need for them to be able to speak up and voice all their concerns more so when things are not working out so that they do not have to end up hating their jobs all in the names of being too naïve to question their mistreatment.
Community Outreach
The ability of women being able to fight for what belongs to them was majorly anchored on the need to ensure that there was a community network kind of approach that was ready to help each other black women who felt that things were not working out or those that were simply stressed up because of the failure to have their grip around their issues. It is clear that a huge number of people were able to ensure that the members of the society were indeed able to promote and support each other when it comes to addressing the problems that each of them may be struggling with. It is clear that a huge number of people are in need for the help from those that have been able to advance in their lives (Carson, 1969). It is clear that a huge number of people have been able to benefit from the mentorship program that aims at empowering many other young black women.
There has been a huge number of people more so the black women between the age of 18 years and 29 years have been fond of having cases of depression. There is need for the black women who have made it to be able to give to the young people by ensuring that they offer them some mentorship that will be able to help them improve their lives or even live better lives where necessary. There is no need for the whole community to have only a single person that is successful when the rest of the community members are wallowing in trouble hence the reason it is necessary to support. It is clear and well presented in the case of Toni Morrison who managed to come up with long term plan of ensuring that people were helped and the talents of young girls were natured all in the attempt to ensure that things worked out.
It also necessary to note that the likes of Queen Latifah has also been able to do a number of mentorship programs that have been able to do much to help the community when it comes to the issues the issues of branding and among black women and how they should work on themselves as a way of ensuring that they are a vindication of the stereotypes that have been lobbied against them. Even though Lorraine Hansberry died at a fairly early age of about 35 years, she still manages to inspire the black community to believe in themselves and encourage the black women to be the best in whatever they do more when it came to work related activities. There is need for the successful black women to support their fellow black women as a way of ensuring they pull everyone up with them.
Women’s Rights
The three women mentioned in this study have been indeed able to fight for the women’s rights in their own right. It is clear that a huge number of women have been able to inspired by them hence the reason they have been able to stand up for what they had initially been unable to effectively address. The fact that Lorraine Hansberry and Toni Morrison were brave enough to ask for divorce in their marriage only 9 years into the marriage for Lorraine Hansberry and 6 years for Toni Morrison was indeed a key sign that the women had the right to make decisions that were in their favor. By these time the women were hardly empowered enough to advocate for their rights. Many of them were mostly unable to advocate for such kind of moves since marriage was more of a male affair than it was about the women. This meant that there were very many women who were disfranchised in the marriages but they could not really come out of such marriages because of the fear of what the society would think of them.
There have been a number of people that have lost their lives all because they did not manage to speak up when they should. At the same time, there have been cases of many black women that have been forced into abusive relationships all because they are not aware what they should be doing. This is evident from the graph below:
Rate of women Victims of Homicide vs men victims
Retrieved from US News
From the graph above, the women who have fallen victims to murder by an intimate partner or a family member is higher in women than men. This has been justified by the fact that the women hardly speak about such vices or threats on their lives due to the fear of retribution that may come with such moves. The statistics show that there is need for women to be empowered so that they can take precautionary measures that will ensure that they are able to avert such challenges since the failure to effectively state them is one of the
At the same time, it was clear that some of the human rights such as right to engage in sustainable economic activity was also a challenge in that a number of women had rescinded their right to make decisions to their partners. It is clear that a huge number of people more so the black women may not be so comfortable when it comes to the whole idea of expressing themselves in some of the situations.
Sexual Harassment Graph
Retrieved from US News
From the graph above, it is clear that a huge number of women are harassed online way more than their male counterparts but very few black women who are harassed online hardly see the need to report the cases to the police. This explains the reason why the statistics in overall have been against women it comes to sexual harassment of any kind regardless of the platform being used. It is also necessary to note that the people affected have also been affected in a great way have been the poor black women who mostly fear that there is
Motherhood
Motherhood is indeed one of the most vital aspects that all the three authors cherished. Even though they may not have done so well on raising of their families more so when it comes to the issue of children and motherhood. Despite the fact they did not perform so well in raising their own families, they have been able to inspire many people on how to fight for their families and how to be a brave mother who is able to stand for what people need to do as opposed to a case where they suffer in silence. There is need for one to be strengthened by motherhood as opposed to the current case where many have been weakened by the same. It is clear that a number of women fear losing jobs due to maternity hence the reason many postponed the idea of raising a family more so when they are new in their positions. There is need to appreciate the role of motherhood and use it as anchoring point in someone being ambitious and brave. This is based on the fact that cases where mothers are weak and unable to the hard on issues they have ended up raising rogue children or even being taken advantage of.
Overcoming
In order to over the challenges that women face which have been discussed above that is marriage, workplace, motherhood as well human rights, it is clear that the black women need some high level of empowerment. This is anchored on the understanding that the more they are empowered the more they stand a chance of facing their worries. To some, marriages are just challenge where they are made to behave like slaves. It is clear that a huge number of people need to be strong enough and do a situational analysis of where they are and where they want to go. This is anchored on the understanding that many are usually weakened by the short term gains hence they end up losing on something bigger that would have been of bigger value to them in the name of trying to get the short term gratification.
Another way that this can be prevented is through mentorship. Many of them usually make the mistake they such accepting what has been used against as stereotypes to refer to themselves not because they are aware of such issues and its impact but rather because of the ignorance hence the need to give them some form of training or mentorship on how best they should handle such cases. It is clear that a huge people who have been in abusive marriages have mainly been in such situations to some extent because they do not know how best they can deal with their situations. There is need for such people to giving some helping hand so that they do not end up messing up things but instead they should be able to benefit from such training.
Solutions
There is need for proper plans that will be able to address the issue raised by the three major voices of black women. It is in indeed clear that there is need for people to take part in addressing the problem. This can be done through a number of ways. Some of these ways include the use of advocacy groups to help in advocating for the rights of the women when it comes to the number of issues that should be indeed addressed. There will also be need to write books about the same. The books can be about the experiences that people have gone through in their quest to get the long term solutions.
One arrangement that could drastically bring down neediness is raising the lowest pay permitted by law. At the state level, there has been a consistent development to raise least wages to $15 every hour. Furthermore, the U.S. Place of Representatives as of late passed the Raise the Wage Act, which would continuously expand the government the lowest pay permitted by law to $15 every hour by 2025. Be that as it may, this development has not increased a lot of footing in the South, however Arkansas and Florida have seen increments in 2019. Truth be told, as noted prior, numerous Southern states don’t have a state the lowest pay permitted by law and rather depend on the government the lowest pay permitted by law. While a few urban areas, for example, Birmingham, Alabama, and St. Louis, Missouri have pushed for higher least wages, states have acquired these increments by blocking neighborhood statutes. Research for the most part finds that higher least wages improve an assortment of financial results, for example, normal profit. An ongoing working paper found that higher least wages help all gatherings yet may excessively profit African Americans comparative with white Americans. Policymakers have additionally talked about directing a $15 national the lowest pay permitted by law by making it a local pay. Be that as it may, such an approach would weakness low-salary people and, particularly, African Americans. Then again, a government $15 the lowest pay permitted by law would address this local divergence and neutralize state acquisitions of nearby statutes.
Second, there should be to a greater degree an attention on association portrayal. Eyewitnesses regularly tout fabricating as the way to white collar class achievement, however a significant purpose behind the high caliber of assembling occupations is the truly high paces of association portrayal inside this division. Association portrayal raises compensation and gives benefits, however it additionally has demonstrated to be a shelter for the abundance of African Americans.41 Moreover, organization enrollment has been connected to intergenerational portability through higher profit and more grounded benefits.42 Benefits and work in the assembling division have been in decrease to some degree because of reducing association portrayal. Moreover, open segment laborers, household laborers, and horticultural specialists don’t have dealing rights under the NLRA; and these occupations are lopsidedly held by African Americans. Expanding association portrayal and improving specialist power all in all can prompt positive pay development for African Americans in this segment. One methods for accomplishing this is through co-implementation, by which offices, for example, associations, strict associations, and volunteer gatherings can cooperate with laborers to authorize wage and other work norms. Another potential arrangement is to stretch out dealing rights to laborers not presently under the NLRA for example, open segment laborers, local specialists, agrarian specialists, and self employed entities. There are different approaches to expand laborer bartering power all through the United States that would have a significant impact for country African Americans in the South particularly for the individuals who work in the car business, which is progressively dependent on provisional laborers. For example, the Protecting the Right to Organize Act is one case of an approach that would reinforce associations and move the perceived leverage from organizations to laborers.
At long last, a third strategy which could have the best effect on improving the fortunes of rustic Southern African Americans is increment voter investment by expelling basic obstructions. For these networks to be able to improve their results, they will require portrayal that is receptive to them in the statehouses. Better portrayal would reduce the antagonistic vibe toward against destitution projects, for example, TANF and Medicaid, making room for better financial versatility. Shockingly, in any case, there are numerous hindrances to enlistment and casting a ballot that limit African Americans’ capacity to have their voices heard. After the Supreme Court struck down bits of the Voting Rights Act in 2013 in Shelby County v. Holder, states the nation over passed a large number of suppressive democratic estimates that excessively focused on African Americans. For example, a significant voter concealment law passed by the North Carolina Legislature which forced an exacting voter ID necessity and dispensed with early democratic was in the long run struck down in 2016 for focusing on African Americans with “careful accuracy.” And during the 2018 midterm races, there were various instances of African American people group being discouraged or kept from making their voices heard because of obstructions in the democratic and voter enrollment process (Cooper, 1988). There are a few expert voter changes that administrators can embrace, for example, programmed enlistment, same-day enrollment, and early democratic so as to engage more individuals, especially non-white individuals, to take an interest in the popularity based procedure. For example, For the People Act would build up huge numbers of these changes at the government level and go far in guaranteeing that every single qualified American can make their voices heard.
My Personal Experience
It is necessary important to empower the black women through the policy frameworks so that if there is any change that can be realized then it has been a permanent change that is not subjective to any party involved. It is clear that I have heard of cases women who were in abusive relationships but still continued being there all because they were afraid of what the society will think of them. Some of them have ended up dying all in the name of love and trying to be loyal to their men. There is need to ensure that these women do not end up being misused all in the name of love or mistreated at work due to the fear of losing work. There is need to ensure that they are empowered to have a voice of their own that will guide them in saying no to some of the voices. It is necessary to ensure that plans are put in place to ensure that things work out for the vulnerable black women more so the younger women that are do not have much education. The fact that they have ended up in drugs or in inappropriate marriages is an indication that eradication of poverty will be key in helping such young black ladies to have a bright future.
Conclusion
The implementation of the solution by coming up with effective policies will be key in ensuring that things work out in the long run. Over the years there has been many quick fixes that have been put in place which did not amount to much. The cause of the problems black women are being subjected to have been identified. It is now the role and the mandate of the state and federal government are well as the black women voices such Queen Latifah to use their skills, talents, careers as well as resources to come up with long term solutions that will help in improving the living standards as well as changing the lives of the people.
References:
Beauboeuf-Lafontant, T. (2009). Behind the mask of the strong Black woman: Voice and the embodiment of a costly performance. Temple University Press.
Carson, J. (1969). Silent voices; the southern Negro woman today. Delacorte Press.
Cooper, A. J. (1988). A Voice from the South. Oxford University Press.
Hansberry, L. (1984). Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun. Samuel French, Inc..
Mayer, C. H. (2017). A’Derailed’Agenda?: Black Women’s Voices on Workplace Transformation. Journal of International Women’s Studies, 18(4), 144-163.
Morrison, T. (1994). The Bluest Eye. 1970. New York, 751-59.
Defining the Black Women’s Voice
Name:
Institution:
Date:
Introduction
Over the hears, there have been many stereotypes that have been associated with black women. Some of these stereotypes have become so engraved in people’s mind to an extent, many have ended up believing that it is actually the true position. It is clear that over the years there have been a number of women that have come out as heroines to speak on behave of the rest of the women. Even though may have their own shortcomings, they have been able to deliver a lot when it comes to the issue empowerment as well as advocating for equality. The study seeks to give a historical background of the issue as well as highlight some of the developments that have been achieved over the years as a means of ensuring that the position of these women is indeed enhanced.
History of the Black Woman’s Voice: What is the Black Woman’s Voice
Over the years, there have been many obstacles that have hindered the black women from projecting their voices. A huge number of black women have not been able to secure high paying jobs despite the high levels of education. It has also been stated that a huge number of black women have been able unable to secure jobs even with favorable jobs compared to their white counterparts. Over the years there have been a number of black women that have been able to come up and serve as the voice of the black women over the years. Some of the most well profound names have been the likes of Lorraine Hansberry, Queen Latifah as well as Toni Morrison among many others.
When it came to the case of Lorraine Hansberry, right from the response she gave after her play won the New York Drama Circle Critics Award in the year 1959 when she was barely 29 years it was clear that she was the voice that would be of much value to the black women and humanity at large. When some people wanted to associate the play with a given color, it has been established that her response was a unifying one which argued that the play was about people and “Negroes” were also people hence a point of equalization. Even though the story had been customized to address the life of young people who lived in Southside, there are a number of things that resonated with many challenges that the black women were being subjected to. In the play even though the black lady had purchased the house in white neighborhood using the money she had gotten from the insurance firm following the husband’s death, the white neighbors did not really want the family to live there. These are some of the many challenges that many American of black skin were being subjected to. It was even worse when the person in question was a woman.
Even though Lorraine Hansberry had moved to the house in the white neighborhood on the basis of merit in that she had managed to get there, the white neighbors ended up attacking the house all because of her race which was a huge challenge. In Lorraine Hansberry’s letter to her mother she clearly stated that the reason for the play was to explain to to the rest of the people that the black women were equally complicated just like the rest of the women. It also stated that they equally had their challenges or mixed up and downtrodden just like the rest of the world hence there was no need for anyone to look down upon them on the ground of their skin color. Even though she died in 1965 aged 34 years, the play “A Raisin in the Sun” managed to create a huge social and cultural change by confronting some of the issues that were affecting the black women that many find it hard to address.
Queen Latifah has been another black who has been a great voice for the black women. This has been based on the fact that she has used her talent and career as a Jazz Musician to be able to voice her opinions about the black women and some of the things she feels that should be advocated for if there is need to achieve some form of fairness with regardless to the women of color. Instead of simply blaming other people for the misfortunes that have befallen the black people, she has certainly been able to come up with alternative ways of addressing the issues without having to act or behave as the victims. This has been anchored on the fact that she has been able to advise the black community more so the black women to address the misogynist, violent and vulgar rap lyrics as a ways of promoting and improving their brand perception as women of substance. She believes that a number of the stereotypes that these people are subjected to have mainly been linked to the blank women.
According to Queen Latifah, the most effective way of the black women presenting themselves and defending what they believe in against the numerous stereotypes that they are subjected to is by them being able to address the sources or the basis of the stereotypes which will then be key in liberating them based on the fact that the moment they sing and associate themselves with some of the things they used to complain about the more they stuck and the more people called them about based on the same (Cooper, 1988). For example, Queen Latifah believed that idea of black women refereeing to black male as niggers was a huge reason why the non-black people ended up calling them the same and when they did they termed it as being racist when in reality they were the very people that were doing the same thing. The fact that she advocated for the involvement of young people in leadership was a key sign that she believed in the potential of people regardless of gender. To her it was not about who makes the decision are long as they were made in the interest of the common majority. Latifah believed that every black woman had a voice and certainly needed to use their voice for positive good.
Another great voice of the black women has been the Toni Morrison. Despite dying in August 2019, Morrison has certainly been referred to many as being one of the most fearless voice of the black women. She advocated for the inclusion of all the people that make up the American history. This is based on the understanding that there were so many cases where the African Americans among other women of color were actually omitted from the American history (Mayer, 2017). It was the likes of Morrison that made a case for the inclusion of all the people that made up the United States. It was Morrison who advocated for equality when it came to representation of the ideas as well as the manner in which the black community was presented.
When one explores some of the books that have been written by Toni Morrison, it is clear that a number of black women mostly those from poor backgrounds have been able to exhibit a number of characters. The focus on the issue of spiritual connection has been key in the stories. The experience of the poor black women was unique and varied based on the individual. The voices of these women were voice of the women that helped in explaining the role and the position of spirituality in matters to do with how it influenced the lives of black women. It was clear that through Morrison one was able to see how much struggle the poor black women go through for them to overcome their challenges. It also explains the burden of religion and how it has been able to the life of many people. The lifestyle of the poor black women is also another key that Morrison managed to explain. According to her, a huge number of people did not know the fact that these set of women had to balance between their spirituality with the dream lives that they yearned for.
Challenges
In the quest to make an impact to the society they live in, these women just like any other black woman have been faced with numerous challenges that certainly affected their ability to get things done. Some of the areas of things that have been of great challenge have been highlighted as the issue of marriage, work place, community outreach, women rights as well as motherhood. It is the ability to overcome these challenges that made these set of women aside since it gives me an opportunity to address what most of them really feared or where afraid of addressing.
Marriages
To many women of substance, instead of being victimized by their partners in the name of marriage they prefer to divorce so that they can be able to live free and be able to express themselves. It is clear that a huge number of people have been victims of abuse but instead of doing the honorable thing and ask for divorce a huge number of black women would rather stick around which in most cases is not usually healthy. As a way of setting the example, Lorraine Hansberry was married only for nine years and divorced. It is clear that the divorce was not just any other decision but it was a way of liberating herself from what she believed was letting her down (Hansberry, 1984). This is justified by the fact that after the device she continued working together with her ex-husband. There are cases of black women who have been in abusive marriages for over 20 years but still do not have the courage to face their fears and ask for divorce. This culture has been on for years which has been a huge challenge. To a number of people, it is better to remain in an abusive marriage than asking for divorce and be vilified for having had a failed marriage.
Many black women are indeed in abusive relationships but they hardly get the energy and the strength they need to walk out of such marriages. The percentage of women murdered by their partners or whose deaths were as a result of their marriages. It is clear that the black women have been able to gain much from the life of Lorraine Hansberry in that the confidence she had to move out of the marriage was key in helping them have the courage they need to ask for divorce when they felt that they were being abuse or the things were not really working for them. There was need to confront one’s fear and face them head on when it came to the issue of abusive marriages.
When it comes to Queen Latifah, it is clear that the issue of marriage has not been able to hold her back. Prior to her marriage to Eboni Nichols, there were very few women who were able to come up and state whether they were straight or not. The fact that Queen Latifah was courageous enough to announce or make it known that she was dating a woman and not a man as a society would have expected was key in liberating many women who were in similar situations but believed that the society may not have accepted such situations (Beauboeuf-Lafontant, 2009). It is clear that black women need to come up and be proud of who they are and the choices that they have made as a way of ensuring that they project their voices based on what they feel and not what the society would like to see which is indeed a huge challenge that has hampered the efforts of many that are in relationships or marriages they feel are not conventional. It is clear that there is need for such people to understand it is about them and not the rest of the people around them that should solely be the basis of the decisions that they came up with.
Just like the case with Lorraine Hansberry, it was clear that Toni Morrison also opted to have a device only six years into her marriage. This was a bold move based on the fact that it was one of the biggest challenge that many black women were not ready to let go. Many opted to cling on when there was every sign that it would have better for them to quit. It is clear that there has been a huge number of women that are struggling to date with marriage which has been one of the main undoing of the black women (Carson, 1969). Many have ended up being so obsessed with the need to protect their marriages to an extent they have ended up struggling in other areas of their lives all in the name of protecting their marriage. There is no need in someone giving up on their career all in the name of the husband decided so. It is necessary to understand that there are many other things that happen ahead of marriage or some that should be given the opportunity to focus on other pillars of their lives instead of concentrating all their lives to save marriages that are beyond repair.
For those that are in marriages that do not look conventional, it is clear that the conventionality of the marriage is based on the parties involved. It is only an issue if the said marriage violates the laws that are in place to guide marriages so marrying or having an affair with someone of same sex as it was the case with Queen Latifah. There is no harm in coming out and proudly talking about the relations one has even when it is not conventional. There is no need to live in secrecy when one should actually be free and enjoy themselves regardless of what people thought or believed.
Work Place
There have been many cases of victimization when it comes to the workplace discrimination. Some of the most affected group of people have been black women. It is clear that this is usually done when it comes to promotions, allocation of duties as well as the manner in which things are done. It has been established that a huge number of people have been unable to effectively do another of things (Morrison, 1994). All because of the fears of losing that work that many have been victimized all in the name of trying to make things work. There has been a limited number of black women that have been ready to try and challenge their status more so when it comes to the issue of promotions, appraisal or any other work related things that may be used as the basis of discrimination. It is clear that there is need to understand the reason behind the decisions that have been made and how they would have been able to make things work.
Wage inequalities at workplace
Retrieved form Business Insider
Based on the above graph, it is clear that the black women are indeed the fourth in rank when it comes to the amount of money they earn from the process of income. It is clear that there is need to highlight the fact that most of the black women at workplace hardly addresses some of these inequalities in the fear of getting jobs. This explains why they would earn way less for the same job when compared against the whites as well as the Asian women as well as the white male who certainly earn the highest despite the fact that they may be doing the same job as their black women counterparts.
Queen Latifah encouraged the black women to fight against the old school thinking when it comes to work. She advised them to go all out and fight for what they believed in for that was the only way that they stood a chance of ensuring that things worked out for them. It was necessary to ensure that they were able to fight for what they believed in even when it came to work. Her idea that the women could effectively work in the army and even get to go to deadly missions such as the one in Iraq was an honor to the black women and it gave women in general the opportunity to deliver how effective things should be done. There is no need for a woman to complain of lack of work opportunities when they have equal qualifications as their male counterparts. Toni Morrison on the other hand believed that the black women had the chance to fight for the space and in case of any form of discrimination they would be better placed to press discrimination charges against the perpetrators. It is clear that according to Lorraine Hansberry, it is clear and necessary for the black women to be able to prioritize their career ahead of much. This is clear when Lorraine Hansberry said that it was always good to give the very best when it comes to work regardless of who one was working for.
It is in line with this that the issue of income inequalities that one should be able to understand why the contributions of the likes of Queen Latifah among other women have been key in ensuring that one can be able to see the huge disparities that exist between these two set of worlds that the black women live compared to the world that the rest of the working class women live in. There is need for people to advocate for equality in terms of the quality of life that they would want to live when it comes to the normal lives that one would indeed want to lead.
Income disparities
Retrieved from Urban. Org.
Despite the fact that the level of education may be similar basis of hiring people, it is clear that a huge number of people suffer from the income disparities this is a huge issue since it may simply be addressed by them raising their voices and talking of the challenges that they face. There is also need for them to come up with a way of ensuring that they are able to get solutions to their current problems (Beauboeuf-Lafontant, 2009). This is based on the understanding that there is need to ensure that the black women are bold enough to address the issues by voicing their concerns instead of simply worrying themselves in the fear of being fired. There is need to address the concerns instead of complaining and doing nothing about it as it has been the case in many companies.
The is need for the black women to stand out and fight for the rights at workplace. This is anchored on the understanding that many times many give up even before starting instead of giving their very best. It is necessary for them to be committed regardless of the challenges but at the same time fight for what they believe in more so when they are being discriminated against or when they are being taken advantage of. There is need to fight for fairness and equal opportunities for all. It is clear that a huge number of people have been suffering in silence where they are misused at work but they hardly speak against hence the reason many take them for granted. There is need for them to be able to speak up and voice all their concerns more so when things are not working out so that they do not have to end up hating their jobs all in the names of being too naïve to question their mistreatment.
Community Outreach
The ability of women being able to fight for what belongs to them was majorly anchored on the need to ensure that there was a community network kind of approach that was ready to help each other black women who felt that things were not working out or those that were simply stressed up because of the failure to have their grip around their issues. It is clear that a huge number of people were able to ensure that the members of the society were indeed able to promote and support each other when it comes to addressing the problems that each of them may be struggling with. It is clear that a huge number of people are in need for the help from those that have been able to advance in their lives (Carson, 1969). It is clear that a huge number of people have been able to benefit from the mentorship program that aims at empowering many other young black women.
There has been a huge number of people more so the black women between the age of 18 years and 29 years have been fond of having cases of depression. There is need for the black women who have made it to be able to give to the young people by ensuring that they offer them some mentorship that will be able to help them improve their lives or even live better lives where necessary. There is no need for the whole community to have only a single person that is successful when the rest of the community members are wallowing in trouble hence the reason it is necessary to support. It is clear and well presented in the case of Toni Morrison who managed to come up with long term plan of ensuring that people were helped and the talents of young girls were natured all in the attempt to ensure that things worked out.
It also necessary to note that the likes of Queen Latifah has also been able to do a number of mentorship programs that have been able to do much to help the community when it comes to the issues the issues of branding and among black women and how they should work on themselves as a way of ensuring that they are a vindication of the stereotypes that have been lobbied against them. Even though Lorraine Hansberry died at a fairly early age of about 35 years, she still manages to inspire the black community to believe in themselves and encourage the black women to be the best in whatever they do more when it came to work related activities. There is need for the successful black women to support their fellow black women as a way of ensuring they pull everyone up with them.
Women’s Rights
The three women mentioned in this study have been indeed able to fight for the women’s rights in their own right. It is clear that a huge number of women have been able to inspired by them hence the reason they have been able to stand up for what they had initially been unable to effectively address. The fact that Lorraine Hansberry and Toni Morrison were brave enough to ask for divorce in their marriage only 9 years into the marriage for Lorraine Hansberry and 6 years for Toni Morrison was indeed a key sign that the women had the right to make decisions that were in their favor. By these time the women were hardly empowered enough to advocate for their rights. Many of them were mostly unable to advocate for such kind of moves since marriage was more of a male affair than it was about the women. This meant that there were very many women who were disfranchised in the marriages but they could not really come out of such marriages because of the fear of what the society would think of them.
There have been a number of people that have lost their lives all because they did not manage to speak up when they should. At the same time, there have been cases of many black women that have been forced into abusive relationships all because they are not aware what they should be doing. This is evident from the graph below:
Rate of women Victims of Homicide vs men victims
Retrieved from US News
From the graph above, the women who have fallen victims to murder by an intimate partner or a family member is higher in women than men. This has been justified by the fact that the women hardly speak about such vices or threats on their lives due to the fear of retribution that may come with such moves. The statistics show that there is need for women to be empowered so that they can take precautionary measures that will ensure that they are able to avert such challenges since the failure to effectively state them is one of the
At the same time, it was clear that some of the human rights such as right to engage in sustainable economic activity was also a challenge in that a number of women had rescinded their right to make decisions to their partners. It is clear that a huge number of people more so the black women may not be so comfortable when it comes to the whole idea of expressing themselves in some of the situations.
Sexual Harassment Graph
Retrieved from US News
From the graph above, it is clear that a huge number of women are harassed online way more than their male counterparts but very few black women who are harassed online hardly see the need to report the cases to the police. This explains the reason why the statistics in overall have been against women it comes to sexual harassment of any kind regardless of the platform being used. It is also necessary to note that the people affected have also been affected in a great way have been the poor black women who mostly fear that there is
Motherhood
Motherhood is indeed one of the most vital aspects that all the three authors cherished. Even though they may not have done so well on raising of their families more so when it comes to the issue of children and motherhood. Despite the fact they did not perform so well in raising their own families, they have been able to inspire many people on how to fight for their families and how to be a brave mother who is able to stand for what people need to do as opposed to a case where they suffer in silence. There is need for one to be strengthened by motherhood as opposed to the current case where many have been weakened by the same. It is clear that a number of women fear losing jobs due to maternity hence the reason many postponed the idea of raising a family more so when they are new in their positions. There is need to appreciate the role of motherhood and use it as anchoring point in someone being ambitious and brave. This is based on the fact that cases where mothers are weak and unable to the hard on issues they have ended up raising rogue children or even being taken advantage of.
Overcoming
In order to over the challenges that women face which have been discussed above that is marriage, workplace, motherhood as well human rights, it is clear that the black women need some high level of empowerment. This is anchored on the understanding that the more they are empowered the more they stand a chance of facing their worries. To some, marriages are just challenge where they are made to behave like slaves. It is clear that a huge number of people need to be strong enough and do a situational analysis of where they are and where they want to go. This is anchored on the understanding that many are usually weakened by the short term gains hence they end up losing on something bigger that would have been of bigger value to them in the name of trying to get the short term gratification.
Another way that this can be prevented is through mentorship. Many of them usually make the mistake they such accepting what has been used against as stereotypes to refer to themselves not because they are aware of such issues and its impact but rather because of the ignorance hence the need to give them some form of training or mentorship on how best they should handle such cases. It is clear that a huge people who have been in abusive marriages have mainly been in such situations to some extent because they do not know how best they can deal with their situations. There is need for such people to giving some helping hand so that they do not end up messing up things but instead they should be able to benefit from such training.
Solutions
There is need for proper plans that will be able to address the issue raised by the three major voices of black women. It is in indeed clear that there is need for people to take part in addressing the problem. This can be done through a number of ways. Some of these ways include the use of advocacy groups to help in advocating for the rights of the women when it comes to the number of issues that should be indeed addressed. There will also be need to write books about the same. The books can be about the experiences that people have gone through in their quest to get the long term solutions.
One arrangement that could drastically bring down neediness is raising the lowest pay permitted by law. At the state level, there has been a consistent development to raise least wages to $15 every hour. Furthermore, the U.S. Place of Representatives as of late passed the Raise the Wage Act, which would continuously expand the government the lowest pay permitted by law to $15 every hour by 2025. Be that as it may, this development has not increased a lot of footing in the South, however Arkansas and Florida have seen increments in 2019. Truth be told, as noted prior, numerous Southern states don’t have a state the lowest pay permitted by law and rather depend on the government the lowest pay permitted by law. While a few urban areas, for example, Birmingham, Alabama, and St. Louis, Missouri have pushed for higher least wages, states have acquired these increments by blocking neighborhood statutes. Research for the most part finds that higher least wages improve an assortment of financial results, for example, normal profit. An ongoing working paper found that higher least wages help all gatherings yet may excessively profit African Americans comparative with white Americans. Policymakers have additionally talked about directing a $15 national the lowest pay permitted by law by making it a local pay. Be that as it may, such an approach would weakness low-salary people and, particularly, African Americans. Then again, a government $15 the lowest pay permitted by law would address this local divergence and neutralize state acquisitions of nearby statutes.
Second, there should be to a greater degree an attention on association portrayal. Eyewitnesses regularly tout fabricating as the way to white collar class achievement, however a significant purpose behind the high caliber of assembling occupations is the truly high paces of association portrayal inside this division. Association portrayal raises compensation and gives benefits, however it additionally has demonstrated to be a shelter for the abundance of African Americans.41 Moreover, organization enrollment has been connected to intergenerational portability through higher profit and more grounded benefits.42 Benefits and work in the assembling division have been in decrease to some degree because of reducing association portrayal. Moreover, open segment laborers, household laborers, and horticultural specialists don’t have dealing rights under the NLRA; and these occupations are lopsidedly held by African Americans. Expanding association portrayal and improving specialist power all in all can prompt positive pay development for African Americans in this segment. One methods for accomplishing this is through co-implementation, by which offices, for example, associations, strict associations, and volunteer gatherings can cooperate with laborers to authorize wage and other work norms. Another potential arrangement is to stretch out dealing rights to laborers not presently under the NLRA for example, open segment laborers, local specialists, agrarian specialists, and self employed entities. There are different approaches to expand laborer bartering power all through the United States that would have a significant impact for country African Americans in the South particularly for the individuals who work in the car business, which is progressively dependent on provisional laborers. For example, the Protecting the Right to Organize Act is one case of an approach that would reinforce associations and move the perceived leverage from organizations to laborers.
At long last, a third strategy which could have the best effect on improving the fortunes of rustic Southern African Americans is increment voter investment by expelling basic obstructions. For these networks to be able to improve their results, they will require portrayal that is receptive to them in the statehouses. Better portrayal would reduce the antagonistic vibe toward against destitution projects, for example, TANF and Medicaid, making room for better financial versatility. Shockingly, in any case, there are numerous hindrances to enlistment and casting a ballot that limit African Americans’ capacity to have their voices heard. After the Supreme Court struck down bits of the Voting Rights Act in 2013 in Shelby County v. Holder, states the nation over passed a large number of suppressive democratic estimates that excessively focused on African Americans. For example, a significant voter concealment law passed by the North Carolina Legislature which forced an exacting voter ID necessity and dispensed with early democratic was in the long run struck down in 2016 for focusing on African Americans with “careful accuracy.” And during the 2018 midterm races, there were various instances of African American people group being discouraged or kept from making their voices heard because of obstructions in the democratic and voter enrollment process (Cooper, 1988). There are a few expert voter changes that administrators can embrace, for example, programmed enlistment, same-day enrollment, and early democratic so as to engage more individuals, especially non-white individuals, to take an interest in the popularity based procedure. For example, For the People Act would build up huge numbers of these changes at the government level and go far in guaranteeing that every single qualified American can make their voices heard.
My Personal Experience
It is necessary important to empower the black women through the policy frameworks so that if there is any change that can be realized then it has been a permanent change that is not subjective to any party involved. It is clear that I have heard of cases women who were in abusive relationships but still continued being there all because they were afraid of what the society will think of them. Some of them have ended up dying all in the name of love and trying to be loyal to their men. There is need to ensure that these women do not end up being misused all in the name of love or mistreated at work due to the fear of losing work. There is need to ensure that they are empowered to have a voice of their own that will guide them in saying no to some of the voices. It is necessary to ensure that plans are put in place to ensure that things work out for the vulnerable black women more so the younger women that are do not have much education. The fact that they have ended up in drugs or in inappropriate marriages is an indication that eradication of poverty will be key in helping such young black ladies to have a bright future.
Conclusion
The implementation of the solution by coming up with effective policies will be key in ensuring that things work out in the long run. Over the years there has been many quick fixes that have been put in place which did not amount to much. The cause of the problems black women are being subjected to have been identified. It is now the role and the mandate of the state and federal government are well as the black women voices such Queen Latifah to use their skills, talents, careers as well as resources to come up with long term solutions that will help in improving the living standards as well as changing the lives of the people.
References:
Beauboeuf-Lafontant, T. (2009). Behind the mask of the strong Black woman: Voice and the embodiment of a costly performance. Temple University Press.
Carson, J. (1969). Silent voices; the southern Negro woman today. Delacorte Press.
Cooper, A. J. (1988). A Voice from the South. Oxford University Press.
Hansberry, L. (1984). Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun. Samuel French, Inc..
Mayer, C. H. (2017). A’Derailed’Agenda?: Black Women’s Voices on Workplace Transformation. Journal of International Women’s Studies, 18(4), 144-163.
Morrison, T. (1994). The Bluest Eye. 1970. New York, 751-59.