Cursed At Birth

From the first breath of air to the last, black women are stripped of their rights and respect. Historically, women have always been at the end of the stick compared to males. However, being a woman of color has overruled the more broad title of just being a woman in the realm of disrespect. In Mr. Carson's presentation, the audience was given multiple real-life instances where black women received unimaginable, horrific treatment because of the color of their skin. Starting at a young age, little black girls start to fall victim to injustice and unfair treatment. To live a life where insecurity becomes your best friend and opportunities are being taken away even before approaching them is a life that no human being should have to endure.

Mr. Carson purposely and strategically emphasizes stress on a word that is specifically coined for the black female community that is, weathering. According to the dictionary the word 'weathering'  "describes the physical and emotional consequences associated with living on earth as a Black woman." In simpler terms, a black woman has to live her life as she is serving a punishment for being a woman of color. Eventually, this can affect mental and physical health. For some people, the stress of racism is far too difficult to face, therefore mental health, specifically self-worth, is compromised indefinitely. Mr. Carson describes 'weathering' as to how whiteness furthers black women's oppression. Black women face situations, attitudes, and judgment far too serious to ignore. The stress of racism has ended lives and destroyed families forever.

As also discussed heavily by Mr.Carson, the body of black women has been taken advantage of and defamed throughout history. Starting during the Atlantic, black women were raped and abused the entire journey. Not only did the racism continue once the land was reached, but it also worsened. SLave owners would present the women in front of a crowd standing on a pedestal for potential buyers to examine her body. Slave owners would then rape these women and strip them of any self-respect. Many women became mothers during this time and had no way to fully support a newborn. The mother was to raise the children to help work on the plantation. These women were judged and picked by their reproductive abilities. Men looked at these women as objects to use just for nonconsensual pleasure and reproduction. Today black women continue to be objectified and dehumanized by the white folk.

Black women should be given the chances and opportunities that the rest of humanity is gifted. No being should be cursed from birth and fall downhill from there. The respect towards these women needs to be amplified and just as we are all people.