A Poem "Strong Black Woman Is Dead"
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Squaredsc

Monday, August 04, 2003 - 06:09 am EditMoveDeleteIP
i was going thru my gazillion emails and someone sent this to me. i find it very thought provoking. if it offends anyone i apologize in advance even though these aren't my words....

The Strong Black Woman is Dead...

While struggling with the reality of being a human instead of a
myth, the strong black woman passed away.

Medical sources say she died of natural causes, but those who
knew her know she died from being silent when she should have
been screaming, smiling when she should have been raging, from
being sick and not wanting anyone to know because her pain
might inconvenience them.

She died from an overdose of other people clinging to her when
she didn't even have energy for herself.


She died from loving men who didn't love themselves and could
only offer her a crippled reflection.

She died from raising children alone.

She died from the lies her grandmother told her mother and her
mother told her about life, men & racism.

She died from being sexually abused as a child and having to
take that truth everywhere she went every day of her life,
exchanging the humiliation for guilt and back again.

She died from asphyxiation, coughing up blood from secrets she
kept trying to burn away instead of allowing herself the kind
of nervous breakdown she was entitled to, but only white girls
could afford.

She died from being responsible, because she was the last rung
on the ladder and there was no one under her she could dump on.

The strong black woman is dead.
She died from being a mother at 15 and a grandmother at 30 and
an ancestor at 45.

She died from being dragged down and sat upon by un-evolved
women posing as sisters and friends.

She died from tolerating Mr. Pitiful, just to have a man around
the house.

She died from sacrificing herself for everybody and everything
when what she really wanted to do was be a singer, a dancer, or
some magnificent other.

She died from lies of omission because she didn't want to bring
the black man down.

She died from tributes from her counterparts who should have
been matching her efforts instead of showering her with dead
words and empty songs.

She died from myths that would not allow her to show weakness
without being chastised by the lazy and hazy.

She died from hiding her real feelings until they became hard
and bitter enough to invade her womb and breasts like angry
tumors.

She ! died from always lifting something from heavy boxes to
refrigerators all by herself.

The strong black woman is dead.
She died from never being enough of what men wanted, or being
too much for the men she wanted.

She died from being too black and died again for not being
black enough.

She died from being misinformed about her mind, her body & the
extent of her royal capabilities.

She died from knees pressed too close together because respect
was never part of the foreplay that was being shoved at her.

She died from loneliness in birthing rooms and aloneness in
abortion centers.

She died in bathrooms with her veins busting open with
self-hatred and neglect.

And sometimes when she refused to die, when she just refused to
give in she was killed by the lethal images of blonde hair,
blue eyes and flat butts, being rejected by the OJ.'s, the
Quincy's, the Cuba's & the Kobe's.

Sometimes, she was stomped to death by racism & sexism,
executed by hi-tech ignorance while she carried the! family in
her belly, the community on her head, and the race on her back!


The strong black woman is dead!

Or is she?
I know I'm not!

Ladytex

Monday, August 04, 2003 - 06:21 am EditMoveDeleteIP
Wow!

I'm not either ...

Squaredsc

Monday, August 04, 2003 - 06:25 am EditMoveDeleteIP
right now im sputtering but not dead yet.

Jan

Monday, August 04, 2003 - 06:55 am EditMoveDeleteIP
very powerful...this poet should be in print in book form somewhere. Is she?

Jan

Monday, August 04, 2003 - 07:02 am EditMoveDeleteIP
I did a google search and came up with the Author's name and a book she has written. It is "Restoring The Queen" by Laini Mataka. 1994. Also another called "Never as Strangers".

Here is a site (one of many I found) that showcases the poem very nicely:

Strong Black Woman

Chai

Monday, August 04, 2003 - 07:57 am EditMoveDeleteIP
Wow! That was powerful. Thanks for sharing!

Sweetbabygirl

Monday, August 04, 2003 - 10:04 am EditMoveDeleteIP
Dang, very powerful....right up there with Phenomenal Woman, by Maya Angelou.

Twiggyish

Monday, August 04, 2003 - 02:52 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
I agree. It's up there with Maya's powerful poetry.

That's very thought provoking.

Atjoybell

Thursday, September 04, 2003 - 06:00 am EditMoveDeleteIP
This is a powerful, powerful poem. And it is so true!!!!! Like Squaredsc, I'm sputtering, but not dead yet!!! Thank God!

Squaredsc

Thursday, September 04, 2003 - 06:03 am EditMoveDeleteIP
hi atjoybell, can i call you joy? welcome to our world. have you been here long?

Ladytex

Thursday, September 04, 2003 - 06:54 am EditMoveDeleteIP
Hey there and welcome Atjoybell!