Being a Black Woman

9 August is Women's Day in South Africa.

A friend once complained on her timeline about being a Strong Black Woman because she didn't feel strong. And that broke my heart. So, this post is dedicated to her and all the Strong Black Woman I know.

Being a black woman is SO difficult. We are so used to cutting themselves down. We make ourselves smaller. We learned (and I hate that we did) to just fit into the world that we were born into: this world that never made room for us; this world that didn't think we needed room.

It's so strange when I think about the Black Girl that I was and how afraid I was to be just that. We learned so young that being a Black Girl would keep us out of certain places; would only get you to a certain point; would never be enough. We live in a world designed to make me feel small. But we are not small.

Maybe we're not Magin, but we are:

Resilient
Learned
Historied
Forgiving
Angry
Kind

We're all the things that the world needs.

I love my black woman-ness. I love my raised fist and my anger and my true belief that I am more.

And I want that for all all women, not just the once who look like me. I may not change the work like Winnie Mandela, Michelle Obama or Jacinda Arden. But I walk around with my blackness and it's real and it's strong. I love that.

I know that Black Women are doing well because we survive in a world that is designed for us to fail.

And yet we don't,

We fly.
We create.
We govern.
We empathise.
We fight.

We are strong.