The Tears of Black Women
Our tears matter too.
We’ve all seen plenty of videos where white women are carrying on in a public place — a supermarket, restaurant, or department store. They’re screaming their heads off, knocking items off shelves, and attacking customers and/or employees. They won’t listen to reason, threaten to call the cops, and vow to sue everyone in the building. But as soon as they see the phones pointed at them, the waterworks begin.
The latest viral meltdown happened at a Victoria’s Secret. “The first of a six-part YouTube video recorded at the Short Hills Mall and posted by Ijeoma Ukenta Sunday shows the woman, identified in a police report as Abigail Elphick, charging at her with a hand open as if to strike her. In later recordings, Ukenta said she was browsing at the lingerie store when the woman moved in front of her, basically pushing her out of the way.”(Yahoo News) I had watched the video and went from laughing to shaking my head. It was a sad sight to see. The white woman, Elphick, clearly had a mental breakdown when the cameras came out.
In every recorded situation, white women, often referred to as “Karens”, start crying to elicit sympathy for their unacceptable behavior. Some of them do this so when the police arrive, they’ll look like the victim and the other person (usually Black) will look like the villain. Sometimes, the Black person is placed in custody and/or manhandled by the police until other witnesses step forward and provide details about the incident. It’s a frustrating and terrifying problem for Black people.
In every video I’ve watched, I never once see Black women cry when placed in a dangerous situation. However, we are crying on the inside. All our fears explode within us. Our hearts pound, our lungs ache, and our bodies are in fight or flight mode. We’re talking, often pleading with law enforcement, but we are not crying. As a Black woman, I believe we do this so white people do not see us break down. Our pride keeps our tears at bay. But our tears matter.
Black women deal with so much in this country. We have to protect our children from the dangers of the streets. We are caretakers of our elderly parents and grandparents. We often work two or three jobs just to make ends meet or make our dreams a reality. We are tired, but we take a breath and keep on hustling. If we cry, we do so in the privacy of our homes, in our bedrooms, with the lights down low.
Black women cry from fear. We cry from frustration. We cry from exhaustion. We cry because we live in the United States, a society that wants to control our mind, body, and soul. Every move we make is criticized. When we speak, they’d rather we be silent. When we protest, they want to lock us up. If we fight back, they want to kill us. But we keep on keeping on because Black women don’t have time to let white people's foolishness stop us.
