Quit Venting and Take Action
There comes a time in an individual’s life where your friends and family get tired of hearing your venting, ranting, raving aka bitching. My bitching as of late has been the oversight, overlooking, and complete lack of recognizing Black women. News today told me that my institution completed a search and hired a Black man for a very prominent position. I wanted to be ecstatic because yay! a Black person has been hired at this 80% white institution, but it depressed me. Because in the finalist pool there was a promising, intelligent, and hard working Black female and it was clear to many of my white colleagues that she should be selected.
People in my circle made comments to me that I think were intending to be of comfort and focused on positivity like “It’s a step in the right direction,” and “The new hire is Black,” but I feel like these kinds of things have been said for decades. And while there is good intent, it is honestly not enough.
We’ve Got to Do Something
Realizing that I am dragging my friends and family down by my constant bitching I took a step back. I became a recent member of B*tch Media and get daily articles in my inbox. I decided to start reading the ones I hadn’t gotten to and this is where I found some resolve. In one of the February issues, they had a Marie Claire article devoted to non-profit organizations dedicated to supporting and backing female candidates. Within that list, there was an organization, Higher Heights for America and they are specifically dedicated to backing and supporting Black women. The light bulb flashed on and I realized this is the answer I need. I signed up to be a member of the organization, donated, and became a member of the promotional part, #BlackWomenLead.
Power in Numbers
Right now, my voice is undervalued. That doesn’t mean I will stop speaking up and advocating for others, but I am seeing that I need to get more people that agree with inclusivity, representation, and equity to start speaking up, too. I am working on plans to include others to speak up because it’s way too easy to ignore the one person who is speaking all the time. It skews the data and makes it seem like I am the only one who cares about equity, equality, and liberty and that’s not the case. Finding ways to embolden and empower others is my next step. Heads nodding doesn’t make an impact. Voices and actions do.
