Black Girl Blues

By: Kianna Ackerman

Ever heard of black girl blues? You know the sadness or blues that an African American girl gets when someone says “oh you’re pretty for a dark skin girl” or when you’re white teacher in your all white honors class wants you to give your opinion on the color purple. Or when two girls become divided over who’s more rooted to race when it comes to natural or relaxed hair. Basically I’m here to let the world know what you and I both have in common.

So let me introduce you to this column with an original poem.

Black girl blues I have because their telling me that my hair is nasty, it’s too nappy. I’m too loud and confident in my skin, like being black is a sin. Statistics show that by the time I’m 18 I’ll have at least one kid living in section 8, right now I’m only 17 but adults are already telling me that it’s not too late. Stereotypes become too hype claiming that it’s wrong to be too dark and better to be too light.

Who’s right? NO ONE. WE are all beautiful black queens. Enriched skins, curly hair, dark eyes, thick thighs, don’t believe the lies. We are a PRIZE. Don’t you wonder why they try act just like us? My mother’s sit down with your daughters and make plans for college to become to doctors lawyers and look at what you can see because black girl blues doesn’t have to be.

Welcome to the real y’all!

Anyway now that that’s out of the way. I want to talk about education, now a lot of my beautiful African American women are doing their thing! However In 2013 about 57% of Black women 25 and older attended college although only 31% have completed at least an associate’s degree compared to 60% of ‘all women’ who attended college of which 39% completed a degree and about 22% of Black women have a bachelors degree compared to 30% of ‘all women’ according to blackdemographics.com.

I’m not too great with numbers and statistics but my ladies they could be better, am I right? So many black females get caught up in high school and drop out or just get there GED. Those that do get to go college either drop out, can’t go on because of money problems or only graduate with an associate’s degree. I’m not saying there is something wrong with that but I would love to see my sisters in higher positions, feel me?

Let’s leave something behind for our kids, teach them the value of education and higher learning AND saving. Wouldn’t you rather have more than the shortest month in the year to learn and talk about the great pioneers, the black people that invented almost everything? February is the shortest month in the year and that’s the month we get for black history month, like really? If we African American women are on the board of education I bet it wouldn’t be like that.

For my girl in that honors class feeling uncomfortable because you’re in a class surrounded by all white people and your teacher decides to ask you your opinion on the color purple. Just imagine you could be that honor’s teacher in a couple of years encouraging more black girls to take their education seriously instead of belittling them in a classroom. I would love to see more sisters become doctor’s lawyers and teachers.

Instead of trying to beat the system we could work in the system and change it. They say an educated black man is another man worst nightmare but they forgot about the real weapon, an educated black female. The way I see it, is if we work hard now and get into those higher positions our children will follow in our footsteps and EVERYTHING will be different. We have the ability and the power to change all the stereo types, statistics all that. African American females could really change the game, so let’s do it. Y’all got it? Stay up lovely queens!