February is the time of the year all attention turns to the black community. However, this is the time of year I feel black women are silenced more than ever or simply placed on the back burner. Many times if we aren’t learning about Angela Davis or Rosa Parks, black women are being portrayed as these sidekicks to the black man’s vision.
In my opinion, black women leaders have to work twice as hard, or simply be perfect, to get the same recognition black male leaders receive. So many people have never heard the story of Claudette Colvin, the woman who refused to give up her seat before Rosa Parks did. However, because she was young and pregnant, they felt she would bring too much negative attention to the movement, so they did not use her story.
If there is any sign of imperfection, these women are pushed to the side and told they don’t fit the “mold” that has been set. There are so many unsung heroes within the black women’s community that we have never learned about because they don’t fit into the box people have constructed for them or simply they are not considered to be as important as their male counterparts.
That’s why this year I was so excited for Black History Month. I knew it would be different because “Black Panther” was coming out. Not only was “Black Panther” coming out, but you had strong black female leads in the movie. These women were not being portrayed as slave mistresses, maids, single black mothers etc. — they were warriors, they had a voice and were unconventional. You had black women with short, long and no hair in the movie, women that spoke their minds freely and were the reason why men in the movie did not die.
There are so many scenes that have stuck with me from that movie that I won’t share so as to not spoil it for anybody, but if you are looking for a movie to see the diaspora of women within the black community, this is that movie. “Black Panther” is not perfect by any means, but it is the first step in the right direction for black women to start being portrayed as the strong individuals I know we are.
While everyone has their own reasons for loving “Black Panther,” I love it because in a month that normally silences the voice of the black woman, it gave us a voice and hopefully caused those that watched it, specifically black men, to do some self-reflecting. It’s time we start telling the stories of black women instead of dismissing them.
Khorkie Tyus, a Contributing Writer for the Voice, can be reached for comment at DTyus19@wooster.edu.