the black women of fortune.

it is always the black woman who is shunned, given the left cheek only to be slapped on the right with words filled with hidden racism, stereotypes, and hatred. it is always the black woman who is told she is not the right shade to be considered beautiful, all because society has a standard that they believe black women are obligated to live up to. it is always the black woman whose employee file is looked at last because she is seen as unintelligent before the fingerprint mark touches the folder. it is always the black woman who looks at herself in the mirror and sheds tears due to emotions that reside in her heart from her own feelings as well as all her ancestors that live deep within her soul. i might only be eighteen years old, but i have seen evidently more of the world than people give me credit for. i have seen the looks, heard the words, and experienced the heart wrenching pain. there is no feeling like desperately reaching out for recognition. to for once be seen as something other than a skin color. there is nothing in this world more beautiful but terrifying at the same time; than being a black woman. it's the melanin flowing through our veins that provokes the feelings of jealously and hatred. if we think about this logically, our ancestors were the ones put through hell on earth. they were beaten, stolen, raped, murdered, burned, whipped, forced, and tortured. all by the white man with blonde hair and blue eyes. fast-forward many decades later, slavery no longer exists and we're free people. but yet, it's the white man and the white woman that hate us? it would only make sense if we were the ones who felt hatred towards them for the things their ancestors put ours through and even with the treatment and words we receive today. this scenario only shows the hypocrisy and the sinful nature of those who do not "approve" of those who do not look like them. that being said, this changes nothing. this does not drain the melanin from out of the intertwined state it is in within our blood. this does not drop our spirit. this does not silence our voices. this simply encourages us to speak up more, just as i am and let folks know that they have no power over us anymore. i understand that it angers the general public to not be in power of our minds and bodies anymore, but i will stand on whatever platform given to me and embrace my blackness because there is absolutely NOTHING for me to be ashamed of. i do not care about the words of hatred. i do not care about the little boys who do not see me as the white beauty standard solely because their minds haven't hit puberty yet. i do not care about adults who will not respect me because of their own stereotypical thoughts. i refuse to drop my head to anyone other than God. our ancestors went through too much for us to give up and give in. when we take a stand on that platform, we are showing them how much we are grateful for their sacrifices. my beautiful brown skin will continue glowing under the sun when i walk in the summer, my hair will continue being the wild & thick curls that it is, needing an entire bottle of moisturizer in order to contain it, and my lips will remain the natural full shape they are. to all my other beautiful black women, whether you are light skin, brownskin, darkskin, or albino, embrace you and your melanin. we're the blueprints for a reason.