Where can we feel safe in America??

This was a question that was being asked on The Breakfast Club. Now the true question was “where can black women feel safe anymore in this country”. I’ll address the appetizer first before getting into the main course.

Growing up there used to be a certain level of ignorance enjoyed by many of us. “Ignorance is bliss”, they say. See we knew that we weren’t truly safe in this country, but we enjoyed certain areas where we felt secure enough to let our guard down some. We certainly weren’t too concerned with losing our life to police or white people simply because our interactions with them weren’t frequent. We also didn’t have racism being as open and prevalent as it is currently, another reason for our ignorance. Yeah, there were places that you went and received less than preferential treatment, but you just knew to stay away from those places or you knew how to manuever within them. But now it doesn’t matter where you go because there is a common theme: BLACKS AREN’T WANTED. And everything is done to show us that we aren’t wanted. From the upper left corner of Washington to the southernmost tip of Florida, we aren’t welcomed. Sure they like us when we are providing them entertainment, but the buck stops there. My question for these people is do you really hate the chosen people of the Most High that much?? That’s a lot of hatred. One thing I also don’t understand is how non-whites go out of their way to express disdain for us. As if they are high up on the white list. NIGGA PLEASE. Y’all are just one rung up the ladder and can easily get demoted to our status.

Now on to the entrée of this post. I initially didn’t speak on the black woman’s(BW) plight of living in America because I wanted to address things generally. But whereas black people feel as if they don't have anywhere they can feel safe, the BW literally has nowhere to feel safe. See as black men (BM) we have opposition from other races and even from our own brothers. That’s a lot. But BW has opposition from EVERYONE, including us BM. The ones who are supposed to protect and serve BW. The reasons we are mad at the police are the exact same reasons BW are mad at BM. Failure to protect and serve. Yet BW go above and beyond the call of duty to appease everyone, ESPECIALLY us. So now they not only have to be cautious when out amongst other races, but equally cautious when amongst black “men” because they often become victims in that environment as well. I’m tired. It seems like in the past year I have found myself writing something along these lines every couple of months. BM will post Breonna Taylor all day while simultaneously verbally/physically/emotionally abusing their own woman who's next to them. BM will get on the internet and downplay everything a BM is doing. Meanwhile these same BM aren't doing shit with themselves. We gotta stop. As a people we are wayyyy too strong when united. We could be on some Avengers shit when we come together!! But right now we are in Civil War amongst ourselves, and that’s not the Endgame. I’ve wrote enough. Just had to get my thoughts out.

I watch her as she sleeps, her head resting on my chest. Her ear listening to the rhythmic sound of my heart beat. Syncing with hers, our existence slowly emerging into one. She has chosen me as her protector. I have chosen her as my peace. In the darkest of days I can count on her to brighten my world. When the rain is steady in my life, she's there to provide sunshine. And if it's something that the universe deems necessary for me to go through, then she's there with an umbrella. Together we battle. Team US. For better or for worse.