I would love to keep my writing whimsical and soft. I want to write about sourdough bread and bohemian gardens. I want to maintain my free-spirited vibe, but I cannot be silent about what is happening in the U.S. to Black women.
Two years ago, 92% of African American women in the U.S.A. voted against the current president. They did so because they listened to his speeches and watched his interviews. It was clear that he wanted to push us back to a pre-Civil War America. He wanted apartheid. The same apartheid that was openly accepted in South Africa but was being waged silently in the U.S.
I traveled overseas several years ago, and a man from Germany had a conversation with me on the plane. He said, “What is it like living under apartheid?” I was offended. I politely explained to him that we do not have that system in the U.S.A. He looked shocked and then gazed at me with pity and sorrow, as if to say, “She doesn’t know.” I sat there pondering my reality. Pondering everything I had been taught my entire life. I mean, I wasn’t blind. I knew about the silent war being waged on African Americans in the U.S., but I had no idea it was being compared to South Africa.
I recently saw an interview with Trevor Noah about what he thought about the two systems. He said that in South Africa, it was written, and no one denied it existed, but in the U.S., people want to act like it does not exist and that we are in a post-Civil Rights America. It is written in our history books as if it were the past and we were an integrated society that accepts everyone, but it is not. There are people in place in every sector of society to make sure African Americans do not have access to jobs, houses, loans, resources, grants, and knowledge to grow and be better. There are toxic waste facilities located in predominantly African American communities, somehow, and somehow, the tax money that we pay only gets used properly in predominantly white communities.
Even stranger, when I bring these issues up with my fellow white co-workers, relatives, and peers, they act as if they do not notice. I get, “I do not think that is correct. You all are reading into it.” Now, I do not want to believe we are being gaslit by the entire society. I think many European Americans want so desperately to believe it is not true, but it is, and it is time they stop ignoring our cries for help. It feels like bullying, but it is deeper than that.
More than 500,000 African American women have been laid off from their jobs in the last two years since affirmative action was canceled. The war on woke is a war on Black Americans who helped build this country. We pay taxes at the same rate as everyone else, yet we somehow do not get the same treatment. Our children are not offered fair wages or access to jobs they qualify for in this country. Many are leaving, but what about those who cannot leave?
Black, educated, talented African Americans are under silent assault in this country. In one of Trump’s most recent speeches, he said, “Black, Latino, and Native American poverty rates have never been higher.” The crowd cheered. I could not believe my ears. I know there are some who will say he did not mean that, but I know he did. I know because it is true. I am talking about educated, degree-holding professionals who cannot find jobs. People who did not know they were diversity hires. They qualified for their jobs. They worked hard and loved what they did.
Many of these women reported to me that they walked into their offices like any other day and saw a meeting with the HR department that wasn’t there the day before. They were all offered a six-month severance package and sent home. When they asked why or what they had done, many were told their jobs were being terminated. Most of their white co-workers quietly watched but did not protest. This is eerily reminding me of Nazi Germany.
We are under attack here. It is an economic attack, but what more will come? Stay tuned. I hope this post finds someone in Ireland, Germany, Bulgaria, Portugal, Australia, Canada, Thailand, Mexico, or anywhere else because most European Americans will just label me an angry Black woman and keep scrolling. If this blog post does find you outside (or inside) of the U.S.A., please get the word out that we are being quietly silenced, abused, fired, jailed, mistreated, and murdered. We need outside help, and fast.
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