Last week, body camera footage was released showing an Orlando officer arresting a 6-year-old black girl after she threw a tantrum at school. It is heartbreaking to witness how black girls’ emotions are policed at a very young age. Our society has created a world in which women are sometimes afraid of their own anger out of fear of repercussions.
In my life, the slightest indication of anger was fraught with punishment. I sat in detention after my teacher declared that “I had an attitude”; I was written up at work for speaking up for myself. Today, giving myself the right to be angry, rather than feeling like I need to hide it, has been the healthiest release of all.
Although you can still catch me releasing my anger in a punk mosh pit or two, I’ve gotten to a place where I no longer care about how others perceive me. I don’t have to hide my “ugly emotions” to make others comfortable. My ancestors marched so I wouldn’t have to be palatable out of fear of being the “angry black woman.”
Black women in Italy weren’t being heard. Then Black Lives Matter protests began in the United States.
‘It began with the death of George Floyd in the U.S., but this is also our battle’
This valedictorian chanted ‘no justice, no peace’ during her speech. Her school cut her mic.
‘I didn’t want to upset anyone, but what I’m saying is basic human rights. It shouldn’t upset anyone.’
July 2
July 2
