The Essence of Being a Black Woman

I've been an Essence magazine reader since my senior year of high school. With the exception of my Bible, this magazine spoke more to me than the stories, books, and other publications I've read for school. I wasn't aware of the history of the Black woman, my history, until my junior year in college when I signed up for a Black studies minor. I went through the motions of being upset, deceived and confused as to what I was taught before. The whole cartoon conception of the mammy, jezebel, sapphire, tragic mulatto, working horse and she-devil stereotypes were used as verbal and emotional/mental weapons to keep Black women in their place. Throughout such back-stabbing horse manure, many bold sisters have forced their ways out of the "norm" and made breakthroughs for future generations of Black females.

Harriet Tubman was the leader of the pack in the Underground Railroad. Sojourner Truth acknowledged to the masses that she was Black...and a woman. Madame C.J. Walker worked her way to be an entrepreneurial millionaire. Nina Mae McKinney, an unsung heroine before actress Josephine Baker, was the performing arts diva of early Black Hollywood. After Zora Neale Hurston told the story of their eyes watching God, Maya Angelou explained why the caged bird was singing. Many ladies were sing the blues about the ups and downs of life and penned many anthems to unleash their fury. From R.E.S.P.E.C.T to U.N.I.T.Y., Black women know how to represent.

So, what do I think about the au natural cover that actress, singer, mother, entrepreneur and executive producer Jada Pinkett Smith did for this issue of Essence? Challenging. Motivating. Bold. Beautiful. [OMG girl, did you see Jada?]

After being beat up from the beat down, and the knocks downs from the knocks, the Black woman still rises. If there was a time for a someone to challenge herself and confront or recognize her beauty as a strong beautiful Black woman, it's now.