The Power of African American Women

After reading “’To Protect and Serve’: African American Female Literacies”, I was able to understand how powerful Black women really are as opposed to how they are perceived. In this literature, Elaine Richardson begins by acknowledging the stereotypes of African American women. She states how they are referred to as promiscuous and risqué, but also as motherly, wholesome, selfless beings. Throughout the text, the portion that really spoke to me was about just how hard an African American woman can love. In the days of chattel slavery, African American women were the ones who took care of their children, their master and their master’s children. This caring, maternal trait has been passed from generation to generation and is now a common trait among young women of color. As nurturing, selfless women, African American women also wanted to prove the stereotypes of them and their people wrong. But, through all the hatred and stereotypes, the question still remains: why be so caring and noble towards someone who has caused you so much pain? The African American women of our past used their loving nature to advance themselves, their families and anyone else who struggled as they did. African American women took care of others, but they did it to survive and be treated with respect in the long run. They may have been perceived as “Mammy” (Richardson, 676), the caregiver who would do anything for her master, but Mammy was also doing whatever it took to make a better name for African Americans everywhere. Throughout slavery until now, African American women have been striving to create a better reputation for themselves. In the media today, some women of color have begun to accept the lowly status they were given many years ago. But, what they need to realize, as Richardson states, is that they have just as many rights as the European Americans and race has nothing to do with your position is society. This reading helped me understand that
African American women are much stronger than they have been taught to believe. We as African American women should not stand by and let stereotypes and other negative ideas stand in our way. African American women are very powerful because of what they have experienced and others should not reject them, but listen to what they have to say.