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The Invisibility of Black Women.
How many of you are going to scroll past this article, based on the title alone?
I am fortunate.
And I’m aware of it.
I am fortunate in so many ways and I’m grateful.
I did not have to grow during a time when segregation was the law of the land. I never witnessed atrocities towards Black people, perpetrated by White people, just because we wanted the same rights. Nothing more or less.
I never saw Whites only signs.
Never been called nigger.
I am fortunate.
But in my good fortune, I am also unseen. At the bottom of the totem pole of racial and gender hierarchy, as I have explained it in the past. And when I say I’m unseen, I don’t mean ‘me’ personally. I mean those of my same race and gender identification: Black Women.
Black women have been type casted in a variety of roles over the years:
Strong Matriarch
Hypersexual Jezebel
Welfare Queen
And of course, Angry Black Woman.
And with all those labels, we are still unseen. Let me give you some examples:
Case #1:
There is a venue that hosts a variety of different types of performers and performances. Singers, musicians, game shows, children’s entertainers and more. At this venue, of course, they serve alcohol to their guests. Not much alcohol is served at the performances catering towards children, but at the game show, the drinks were flowing. Lots of money made, and lots of tips to the servers. But on one particular weekend, the artists performing were Patty LaBelle on one night and Boys II Men on another. If you hadn’t already guessed, these talented performers cater mostly to a Black audience.
Now, one of the servers, who I am close to, told me that typically, predominantly White crowds prefer to drink dry wines. With this understanding, that means if you have performance that caters to a White…
