Lemonade: Life As A Black Woman

[title maintitle=”” subtitle=”Beyoncé Breaks Down How The Black Woman Perfected Lemonade”]

We are bombarded with messages about how the Black man is the most endangered species in America. But, what about the most unprotected and disrespected person in America (and I would add the world), the Black woman?

People forget we, my fellow black women, exist. They constantly disregard our plight and us. It only took Beyoncé and some lemonade to shine a light on the fact that every Black woman is born with a lemon.

I had my ups and downs, but I always find the inner strength to pull myself up. I was served lemons, but I made lemonade.

-Jay Z’s grandmother, Hattie White

What does that mean that every Black woman is born with lemons? I’m referring to the fact that historically Black women are shot with racism while stabbed in the back by sexism. And please don’t be gay, as you’re then hung by homophobia.

We are told we can’t be too strong otherwise we intimidate others. Or we need to have more European features to be deemed beautiful by social norms. While at the same time combating the stereotypes of being this over-sexualized woman.

Life as a Black woman is not easy. Doesn’t matter how light or dark the Black woman is or if she’s American or French. Each Black woman carries throughout her life the weight of her lemons.

Yet like our grandmothers and our grandmother’s grandmother, we have passed down an inner strength that no one can fuck with, not even Jay-Z.

The spirit of Black woman is like our hair, resilient and strong. We get paid 64 cents for every dollar paid to the White, non-Hispanic male, and we still slay in the workforce.

The Black woman is one of the least desirable on online dating sites, but then you have women like Kim Kardashian plumping their lips and ass to look like us.

So when you see us strutting down the street owning our big lips, Negro noses and wide hips like we are flawless, that’s lemonade. When you see actresses like Viola Davis and Kerry Washington playing strong, but broken characters on TV, that’s lemonade. And when you see us publicly healing over some heartache, like our famous husband cheating on us with Becky, that’s lemonade.

Thank you Beyoncé for explaining to the world how the Black woman is the true creator of lemonade.