Those Lyrics
I ended my relationship with him because his music of preference degraded, devalued, and denounced women. How did we get to this place? When did I become his enemy? Surely, he did not think of me as a friend!
“Oh, the lyrics are not about you,” he would say.
Ughhhhhh, my frustration rose with every point he missed. Of course the lyrics are not about me specifically, but its collective implication is placed squarely upon my shoulders. The weight is heavy. The conversation is lacking. Maybe if I were not a professional woman, I would not notice? Maybe if my life did not require me to be in situations where I am the only one, I would not be bothered? How have we gravitated from R-E-S-P-E-C-T to O-P-P? Perplexed and tired, I ended the relationship.
If you are wondering, yes we are still friends—the one, he says, “that got away “. What an interesting choice of words when considering the bondage his ideology would have placed me under. Walking away, I was left wondering if he would ever know A Woman’s Worth. I can only hope so, but I still don’t know.
Unless empathetic, people only seem to understand “a thing” if it has a direct impact on them. Have we become so desensitized that we only have empathy when catastrophes occur? Don’t we know that by the time we see the physical manifestations of inequity, inequalities have already run rampant? Many seem to think that if they do not have a dog in the fight, then the fight is simply theater. “Get over it”, they say. “It’s not that serious”, they insist while attempting to bully via shame. “You are too sensitive”, they sing. Their perspective, however, does not change your reality nor how such attitudes affect your life.
“Oh, the lyrics are not about you” become about me when I show up to defend someone in court and have to check a dude who calls me honey. They become about me when I am in a meeting and the males are addressed by their respective titles and I am by my first name only. They become about me when the salary being offered to me is less or when I am overlooked for a promotion, not because of my work product, but because of this rule that a man—and many times a white male—is simply worth more. How could he not be worth more, right? People like to do business with people like them and most big business deals are done between men—white, wealthy men. Now, you know like I do that most people are not white and wealthy and male. Yet, the oppression amongst those of us who are not continues to pit ally against ally.
Although at times slow to make mainstream rotation, songs empowering women are being written and played. Their vehicle is not limited to the radio, but more readily seen in life. So, what songs do you turn up…or turn off? Are the lyrics being sung about you? The big picture, most miss.
emergingfree 
Excuse Me Little “Black” Girl—Part 2
Rock-a-bye baby in the tree top…. Excuse me little “Black” girl, I wonder about you. YES, YOU! I wonder how many of you have experienced a period of peace, a time when you had no worries and was carefree. I wonder if you have two loving parents, parents who often tell and show you that they love you. Do you tell and show them that you love them? YES, I mean ACTUALLY SAY the words: I-LOVE-YOU-Mom-Dad. Do you come from a loving home, a place where you are valued and protected, encouraged and supported, challenged and taught? Is your foundation solid or is it shallow? I wonder…about you.
When the wind blows the cradle will rock…. Have you experienced bullying–on the playground or in the classroom? Have you ever been picked last because you are a girl? Has a teacher overlooked your raised hand to call on Jim, not that his hand was raised but because he should know science? Have you ever been teased for being too light or too dark, for not being Black enough? Have you been told that you think you are white, talk like you are white, act like you are white? Have you struggled to understand what this means, and what this really means for you? Do you embrace your uniqueness or do you try to fit in? When the wind blows, what do you do?
When the bough breaks, the cradle will fall…. I wonder if you are aware of the injustices that await you in this world–injustices related to your gender, to your race, to your gender and to your race. I wonder about your preparation for being a healthy, well-balanced being operating in a world that defines so much around gender, race, and economics. I wonder about your preparation as I think about my own.
You see, there is a need to introduce race and gender scenarios to you in safe environments so you can ask questions and get answers, so you will learn to analyze matters for yourself without depending on media messages and mainstream citations to parrot. As you go forth to be boldly brilliant, you will see some heart aching events. Some, you will experience firsthand. Allow yourself to grow in maturity, to experience a range of emotion. Grow in patience and in perseverance. Being you, being Black and female, is not a bad thing. It is a blessed thing. You will gain insight and strength unlike no other. You will see that storylines have been created for you, but that you are created to create headlines. Write your own script once you have captured their attention. Be open to diverse friendships. Live outside of confined narratives. When the bough breaks, change the ending. Surprise some people and soar!