This piece I wrote for NewsOne is very personal for me.

There are so many frustrations and headaches that come along with simply existing in America as a Black woman.

We can’t be too proud. We can’t be too loud. We can’t express our thoughts or feelings on any situation without being labeled as “angry.” We are often criticized for the same things or non-Black counterparts receive praise for.

It’s a frustrating experience, to say the least.

There seems to be a pervasive need to “humble” Black women, especially accomplished Black women. It’s not just in the media; it happens within our own community. One look at the Twitter timeline and you will see at least one instance if not more of someone —  usually a Black man — doing their best to try and put a Black woman “in her place.”

We think too highly of ourselves. We expect too much. We want too much. We won’t submit (to men or anyone else). We are too “masculine.”

For Black Women, The Bar And The Expectations Are Always Much Higher Than They Are For Everyone Else

I am not the first Black woman to have these thoughts and feelings, and I certainly won’t be the last, but I felt the need to get them out there because this is a conversation that needs to be amplified.

It feels like the mainstream talks about and discusses the solutions for the ills of everyone but Black women. Besides the ones we have amongst ourselves, where are the conversations about what happens to Black women in America? Where are the conversations about what we need?

All of that to say, please read what I wrote, and let me know if it resonates with you.

To my fellow Black women: we all we got.

“For Black Women, The Bar And The Expectations Are Always Much Higher Than They Are For Everyone Else“