There is room for all of us

 

 

Please stop perpetrating the notion that there can only be one successful or smart black girl in the room.

I’ve always noticed the hints of competition riddled with shady comments and side eyes but lately it’s been super thick and I’m desperately waiting for the decline.

The external pressures that society puts on black woman definitely attributes to this epidemic. We are disregarded, overlooked and ignored. We struggle to have our voices heard as we are often met with opposition or comments saying we are too sassy, bossy or opinionated.

Maybe it’s the squeezing in from all fronts that forces us to be cutthroat or perhaps we simply have issues with letting others claim their flowers alongside of us because we want to be the first and the last.

Newsflash, there will always be someone else who is just as good or even better at what you do and that is okay. That does not weaken your abilities or invalidate your voice. 

Just because society is throwing punches doesn’t mean we turn to our sister and administer blows through the crab in a barrel technique. We’ve allowed those outside pressures to force us into thinking there can only be one.

We get on social media and preach “black girl magic” and “black girls are winning” but we snub one another as soon as we feel threatened. We give props to those who we deem are lower than us but the minute they reach or surpass our accomplishments, the praises and congratulations stop and envy creeps in.

We interrupt one another during the meeting to interject our opinion because the other black girl’s response was not substantial. We say “she thinks she’s all that” in a derogatory sense, when in fact, she is! We refrain from sending each other opportunities because we fear that person might get that last seat. Similar to the last chair in the game of musical chairs, we anxiously circle it waiting to be the one to claim victory.

But, that chair doesn’t exist. 

There is not an assigned seat. There is not a reserved chair or even row, we can own and fill the whole damn auditorium. There is room for all of us to sit comfortably, reach across and find our strength in numbers.

Cut out the hatred and lend your hand. Be supportive for others because at some point it will be your time to shine. Cheer each other on and let the world know there is not a token or chosen one. We are all here to raise the bar and run shit, period.

Love and light,

Victoria