Div i sion

Since the "Black Lives Matter" movement took off, it has done nothing more than further divide the black community, because the focus has been on external issues. Set aside from the rioting and vandalism; communities within the black community have grown, that separate darker skinned blacks from lighter skinned blacks. Colorism has become ingrained, even more deeply than it was before, especially amongst black Women. The degrading of black women has become more prevalent in the black male community, through self-proclaimed black life-coaches that have emboldened beta males, to project their broken emotional and mental health struggles, onto black women. Both, black men and women must be accountable for what they contribute.

I ran across a young black woman that has a very successful YouTube channel. She advocates for dark skinned black women....which I am all for; covering topics on interracial relationships, black beauty, the safety of black women, the lack of stable black males that defend and protect black women, etc. I respect, agree with, and appreciate most of her content......except for one thing.....she excludes mixed and bi-racial women from the black community. In fact, going through her comment section, one would find that most of her commenters, which are dark skinned black women, have many grievances against light-skinned (bi-racial) black women. Some, even hate. On several comments, women have consistently excluded bi-racial women from the black community, even stating how these women were not black, and worst....how bi-racial women have identity issues, because they call themselves "black women".

Multi-cultured and bi-racial Women have defended their right to identify as the black women that they are, on this YouTube channel, with a lot of push back. I have even made a statement concerning the hypocrisy and double-standard of this channel. The content creator is very well-known for encouraging Black women to expand their dating pool and be open to dating white men, whom she considers treating black women better than a lot of black men do. I am all for that as well...coming from a very diverse and mixed family, and being multi-cultured/race and a light-skinned black woman, myself and having a multi-race child.

I asked a question to these Black women; the same women that discouraged, discriminated against, and separated bi-racial women from the black community; how was it that, they were so open-minded when it came to having relationships with white men, but were against bi-racial women calling themselves black? I said;

"You do realize if you have children with these white men, your kids will be the same bi-racial people, that you divide from the black community, right? I doubt that the Black women here , would want their bi-racial children denying their blackness."

What I took away from that channel (that I never had the desire to return to, since), was that it was overloaded with a lot of very broken and hurt black women. Hurt, by black men, hurt, by light-skinned people that thought they were better than dark skin, hurt by the division that racist and hateful white people, historically and purposely pitted light-skinned and dark-skinned black people against one another. The black community as a whole, needs deep healing. This is the heart-breaking truth.

One black woman said to another bi-racial black woman: "You are not black. You are bi-racial. You have an identity crisis issue." The truth behind that statement was, it was a projection. Due to the diaspora of Africans, and slavery; a lot of black people today, do not know where they come from, which is a part of the problem, displacement, hurt and anger, within the black community. Not knowing ones identity. Having an identity, knowing where you come from, ties you to something and connects you to a relatable community of support, even safety. That statement was cruel, but it came from a place of holding on to the one thing that no one can take away.......being Black.

"Black Lives Matter", has focused on the problems on the outside of the Black world, when we have open, gaping and festering wounds, within.

Raven