I read a status on Facebook the other day that said “Mama Pope is just another Angry Black Woman complaining about a Black Man”…
Clearly they didn’t get it.
I have been long wanting to write about “Mama Pope’s Monologue” since I watched the Season Finale, but didn’t know exactly what to say. Until now. The words that Mama Pope spoke came from the core of a black woman’s soul. From Black women having to watch their men and children whipped, sold off, raped, and humiliated all while having the same things done to them. There were no time outs for mental breakdowns. No one to protect them. They had to nurse themselves mentally and physically back to health. And not much has changed today. People often talk about the effect of absentee fathers in young black men lives; however, they forget the effect it also have on young black women. There has always been challenges unique to black women within and outside of their culture. Which is what Mama Pope spoke on.
Black women are constantly perceived as fighting, angry, and insolent. Often emulated with no credit for originality. Oversexualized, exploited, and when it comes to dating, are often looked at as scraping the bottom of the barrel. Good for the “come up” but are harmful to success. Treated as test driven cars. Black women have to celebrate their own beauty because no feature they posses is considered beautiful unless its on non-black skin. Mama Pope spoke on some of those challenges, especially when it comes to black men. She didn’t say anything new, she simply did what many have already been doing. Black men and women have been publically “airing out their dirty laundry” for centuries.
A couple of years ago, a non-black man made a video that went viral on his “opinion” on why black women call themselves “Strong Black Women”. This man who has no idea what it means/feels to be black, yet alone a black women, went on to state how other women of other nationalities doesn’t have to call themselves “strong”. As he continued to degrade black women, speaking on certain stereotypes, comparing black women to non-black women, you had mass comments with black men agreeing.
Black women have to work three times as hard to be half as good and still is not good enough. That is the narrative of many. In relationships, black women are often the supporter, the back bone, the nurturer, the healer, the forgiver, THE FORGIVER. They lay down their lives for husband, child, and family. No one supports, up-builds, and ride for black men like black women. And as Mama Pope said, “…when we do, you resent us for making you better…then drop us so you can be with someone basic. Someone without all that baggage you left us with.”
From having to teach men how to love black women, how to handle black women with care, how not to abuse the love and strength of a black woman, to raising black men the best way they know how when they are left to do it alone. To having to fight beauty standards of society and build themselves up while trying to raise daughters not to possess the insecurities that their men place on them. You have to be strong to deal with all of that.
“And yet we still try”, said mama pope.
If you don’t get it… You never will. Bravo Khandi Alexander! Bravo!
Just in case you missed it: Here’s Mama Pope’s monologue in the season finale that had #BlackTwitter AND #FeministTwitter emotional. :