An Open Letter from Black Women

By:Kourtney Benton

Dear white society,

You know it is bad enough that four hundred plus years ago, you snatched our ancestors away from their homes. What’s even worst is that you separated us from our Kings and made us believe that we did not need them. You forced us to sit and watch our black men get beaten to only validate your claim. You even raped and beat us to the point where you made us dislike ourselves today. You created this light skin v. dark skin epidemic. This is all on you. You have poisoned the mind by making us believe that if we are not closer to your complexion, we do not matter. You have made us believe that if my sister’s hair is long and she is of lighter complexion, then she must conceited or cocky. Or if my sister’s hair is kinky or curly and she is of darker complexion, she is afro centric or highly militant? Or if my sister is brown skin, she simply doesn’t matter.

Time and time again I sat back and watched my sisters truly think they are ugly because their skin is not my color. See I am what you consider light skinned. I am not cocky nor conceited. Your stereotype is invalid. I have no easier route because of the color of my skin. BECAUSE I AM STILL A BLACK WOMAN! Your stereotype is invalid, again. My sister, no not my real sister, but my sister in culture; she is beautiful even though her skin is darker than mine. Again, your stereotype is invalid. Her isn’t nappy and oh yeah, it’s LONG. And HERS! So once again, you have an invalid stereotype. You have made us believe that if our butts, nose, hair, or etc. isn’t anything close to yours, we are ugly. YET, I see many people of your kind trying to mimic what we have. There are plastic surgeries for bigger butts, bigger noses, wider and plump lips.

You even made headlines where you stated that Beyoncé was trying out “Kylie’s” lips. That’s funny because one is fake and one is natural. We, as black women, are constantly being mocked for our features. Zendaya wears faux braids to signify her culture and people. However, a white woman states that she probably smells like “patchouli oil… or weed.” Then Iggy wears her braids, yet it is trendy and fashionable. These are just a few examples. I can call out Miley Cyrus for mocking black women and their big butts. There are a lot of mocking that we truly dislike, however, you all choose to ignore. We often get the stereotype of being angry.

We are angry. We are tired. Most of time we are just frustrated. We are highly underappreciated, overworked, and used. But it is okay. We understand we are physically and mentally imposing, eye-catching, and stunning. It is because of you all that we understand and value our worth much better. So thank you for the mocks because we know you just want to be like us. It is basically “black girls are ugly with this, however, white girls look better with it.” I promise you this. Our crowns are much bigger than they were before. Our bond is tighter than they were before. This is what they call “strong black women.” You may not know now, but you will learn that you cannot break. You have only brought us closer. My black is beautiful, matter of fact it is gorgeous. And so are my sisters’.

With love,
The Beautiful Black Woman