Ta-Nehisi Coates extensively explores the vulnerability of black bodies, he writes about the distance from the assumed societal norm a black body must endure. “This chasm makes itself known to us in all kinds of ways. A little girl wanders home, at age seven, after being teased in school and asks her parents, “Are we niggers and what does this mean?” (136). What does it mean to be Black in America? What does it mean to a Black woman in America? Melissa Harris-Perry would answer that it means facing stereotypical tropes placed upon one because of the visibility of their identities. She cites three traditional examples: 1) the sexless Mammy who nurtures white women and children, and neglects her own community, 2) the sexually promiscuous Jezebel, whose inherent hypersexuality has long been used to …show more content…
Haddiyah had been discussing how Black women at our University, some she does not even know, look to her to share their experiences. They say “I don’t really know what to do with this, do you?”, and though Haddiyah wants to help she says, “It can make you hate school.” The burden of being the bridge can ruin what is supposed to be a time of personal growth. She feels responsible for helping her community be heard. She says she hears them and then must say “I’m sorry this is how the white people understand”. There’s a burden to connect communities and pressure to educate people as she is called frequently for affirmation about people’s own racial issues. They feel a sense of guilt about not knowing about current issues but it is their own responsibility to educate