Months ago, I witnessed a Black man attempting to censor a Black woman’s writing. He told her there was no need to write a “divisive” piece because he’s already speaking up for Black women.
What this man needs to understand is that Black women face unique challenges and that our voices are unparalleled, valuable, and necessary. How ironic that a man writing about Black women’s issues would try to tone-police and silence a Black woman. Why did he feel entitled to do so?
It’s called Black male privilege.
If you think privilege is something from which only white people benefit, you're mistaken. That’s why Black writers roll their eyes whenever we hear a White person complain, “I’m White, but I’m poor. How can I be privileged?” What they fail to understand is that people benefit from privilege on a spectrum. Sure, a white man from a low-income family has fewer privileges compared to a wealthy White man. However, both experience greater privileges than Black men.
You would think Black men would understand their privilege given the discrimination they experience. But many don’t; some deny it even exists. Just as many white men reject the need for feminism, many Black men stand in opposition to womanism. Ironically, both movements try to create an equal society (although feminism has a terrible track record).
Black male privilege is a phenomenon that causes Black men to prioritize their role as victims of white supremacy while minimizing the struggles of Black women. Many Black women began asking tough questions about misogynoir. While unpacking your invisible knapsack is never easy, everyone needs to understand their privilege. To live in a society where everyone receives equal treatment, Black men have to check their privilege at the front door.
Here are three reasons Black men should commit to egalitarian values.
Black women are all around you
From the time you were born, a Black woman likely held you in her arms and loved you. She burped and fed you and answered your endless questions about the world. Black mothers, sisters, aunts, and grandmothers were all around you. There’s no way you would’ve made it this far in life without Black women. So it would be best if you empathize with our fight to secure equal pay and fair treatment at home, work, and school.
The civil rights movement has centered around the experiences, struggles, and triumphs of Black men. We condemn mass lynchings but hardly discuss systemic rape culture. During the antebellum period, white people forced Black women to have children against their will — a real-life version of The Handmaid’s Tale. Yet, these topics don’t center the national conversation about racial trauma. Misogynoir is built into the American project.
Black women still make less money than Black men and White women — the pattern of inequality persists. We are all around you, and we matter. When Black men check their privilege, they become part of the solution and not another hurdle for Black women to leap.
Sexism undermines the movement
We have a major problem with sexism. Hip-hop, though an exciting art form, has historically undermined Black women’s freedom. Just like white supremacists, Black male rappers contribute to a caste system among Black women where “light is right.”
DaniLeigh’s controversial lyrics “Yellow bone is what he wants” were not sung in a vacuum. She felt emboldened to express this colorist sentiment because Black men have cosigned that message in countless songs and music videos. How many ballads must be written about light-skinned Black women before we finally admit the harm of this glorification? It’s up to Black men, the music they make, and the artists they choose to support.
Childish Gambino’s song “Redbone” was a hit in 2016. When Black rappers are not praising women for being “red,” “yellow,” or “foreign,” they are belittling them for their sexuality. Somehow, Black men spitting bars about their conquests is acceptable, but when Black women express their sexual desires — like with last year’s summer jam “WAP” — there’s an issue with women’s sexual openness.
This isn’t to say all Black men intentionally disrespect Black women — but you already knew that. Still, it does not change the fact that sexism is in our ether. Colorist, sexist music could next find its way into your young daughters’ earbuds.
Sexism undermines the movement for racial equality. Without accepting the legitimacy of Black women’s fight for equal rights in a male-dominated society, no one will take us seriously when we fight for racial equality in a white-dominated society. Sexism undermines the point Black men have been making for over 400 years: We are equal.
As Malcolm X said: “We believe that if the white man will do whatever is necessary to see that his woman get respect and protection, then you and I will never be recognized as men until we stand up like men and pays the same penalty over the head of anyone, who puts his filthy hands out, to put in the direction of our women.”
Equality benefits all Black people
Around the world, Black women have to endure misogynoir, the intersection of racism and sexism. That’s why everyone learned George Floyd’s name, but some members of Congress were uninformed about Breonna Taylor. It’s why we have historically centered the civil rights movement around Black men instead of Black people. Consider the eighth item on the Black Panthers’ 10-Point Plan: We want freedom for all Black men held in federal, state, county and city prisons and jails.
“Freedom for all Black men” could have easily been written as “Freedom for all Black people,” as Black women are the number one group of women incarcerated in prisons and jails around the country. The problem is, many Black men have been in denial about the unique challenges Black women experience.
It goes beyond incarceration. Black girls, not Black boys, are the primary group pushed out of school programs. Yet when we talk about the school-to-prison pipeline, conversations focus on how Black boys are treated in school programs. Their pain is valid — and Black men deserve freedom — but not at the cost or erasure of Black women and girls. Even if the Black Panthers got all its demands, Black women would still be rotting away in jail — that’s the danger of Black male privilege.
We are in the same boat, confronted with a system of White supremacy designed to keep many of us hovering around the poverty line, enduring brutal racist attacks, and suffering injustices in nearly every facet of life. Black men should check their privilege because equality benefits all Black people.
Checking your Black male privilege does not undermine the privilege White men have over you. It simply means you have significant privilege comparative to Black women. If Black women matter, our needs must be put on an even playing field with those of Black men. There are no ifs, ands, or buts about it.
Imagine a white man telling you, “I’m already fighting for you. Your words are divisive.” That’s ridiculous. An ally fighting against racism does not denote the need for Black men to speak their piece about racism and how it impacts them. In kind, Black women have to fight against misogyny and racism. We cannot pick just one because both sides of the coin impact us.
Black men, check your privilege. Equality should benefit all Black people.
This post originally appeared on Medium and is edited and republished with author's permission. Read more of Allison Gaines' work on Medium.
Comments
Leave a comment