Weak Links
Jaden Johnson
Kyr Mack
English 104
10/17/20
Weak Links
Black people have stood together with one another since the colonial times. The world gave us hell and all we had was each other. To this day we are still a very community-based group of people that continue to fight against our oppressors, but there is often talk of a “weak link” within the community. If you have been on Black social media at all in the past couple of months at least, then you may know that the weak links the community is talking about are cis gendered, heterosexual Black men.
A meme depicting the topic at hand.
Why are cishet Black men considered the “weak links” within the Black community? Well if I were to be honest, they are the ones mainly strengthening the divide within the Black community. We live in a culture where many of the things men do to women in order to seek validation from their peers degrades and attacks women. You would think that men are the ones who are supposed to protect Black women, but often we are Black women’s worst enemy. Black men constantly attack Black women mentally, physically, and emotionally as women’s feelings are rarely taken seriously, women are attacked and harassed for things such as saying “no” to men, and how Black men continuously put down Black women’s appearances. We live in a culture where Black LGBTQIA+ people are being murdered at an alarming rate (mostly by the hands of Black men) and Black men don’t seem to bat an eye.
As a cishet Black man myself I know for certain that Black men live in a toxic culture with their fellow man. Referring to women as b*tches and h*es is the norm, if an action is remotely feminine you become a “fruitcake”, and public humiliation has become a way to receive validation from your peers. Public humiliation as in your homeboy tells you to grab that girl’s butt and she is publicly violated as your friends laugh in the background. We live in a culture where we also receive validation from our fellow man by how many women we’ve slept with. We live in a culture where we care so little about our women that you’re ridiculed if you stand up for a woman. You become words like “simp” or a “white knight” for wanting better for your sisters. The toxic behavior we exhibit to one another has shackled us.
It seems as if many Black men have some sort of unprovoked disdain for their own women. Many Black women often make a point that you don’t see other races disrespect their women the way Black men do, and I can say that I agree. It has always been trendy for Black men to make fun of certain caricatures of Black men. Tyler Perry is a good example of a Black man who achieved stardom through the portrayal of a Black woman. The famous hit Youtube video from 2011, “Asking all them questions”, is yet another example of a long history of Black men putting down and poking fun of our own women. Currently, there is a trend of Black men going on the popular short video app Tik-Tok to imitate how Black women would put weave or a wig in their hair. The reason as to why men choose to do this is unknown, but it seems to be amusing among other Black men. It ends up being all fun and jokes until someone mentions their mothers and then men will get defensive. It shouldn’t take for others to bring up family for men to realize how harmful their rhetoric is toward women.
A Black man posing as a Black woman on a viral TikTok.
Unfortunately, homophobia is alive and well in the Black community as well. A gay music artist by the name of Lil Nas X recently posted a picture of himself dressed as his favorite rapper Nicki Minaj. He was met with widespread attraction, but more negative attraction from his own people. Many Black men, especially rappers, felt the need to make homophobic remarks toward Lil Nas X and his Halloween costume. Homophobia in our goes beyond harassment on the internet like Lil Nas received. There are numerous cases of violence perpetuated on gay men and others that identify as LBTQ+ in the Black community. Our deep rooted homophobia within our community has managed to rampage through the mental health of our queer brothers and sisters as our community feels the desire to make them feel unwelcome because of their sexual orientation or the gender they identify as.
This essay calls out the sexism, misogyny, and homophobia present in our community that is more than often invoked by Black men, but a good question is will it ever end? The short answer is yes. However, we have a long way to go before many of our men will understand the error of their ways. We must be more critical when it comes to celebrities spewing ignorance because they have a huge influence on the Black community. We must be more critical with our kids for when they end up spewing ignorance or hate in order for every child to feel safe. Lastly, we must be critical of our own brothers as well. Not everyone is perfect and has all the answers, so as a community we must come together and teach our men the error of their ways. Martin Luther King jr made a point about the white moderate being the biggest threat to the Black community back when he was in jail. That same principle applies to our situation now. Choosing to remain silent when our marginalized brothers and sisters are persecuted by the same men that claim to protect them will do more damage than good. If one has a piece of mind then they should speak out against ignorance.
A photo quote from Angela Davis
Works Cited
Martinez, Gine, and Tara Law. “Murders of Black Trans Women Reveal a Crisis, advocates Say. Time, 12 June 2019, time.com/5601227/two-black-trans-women-murders-in-dallas-anti-trans-violence.
Frazer, Eva, et al. “The Violence Epidemic in the African American Community: A Call by the National Medical Association for Comprehensive Reform.” Journal of the National Medical Association, Elsevier, 19 Oct. 2017, www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0027968417302134.
user6036895042367 On TikTok.” TikTok, vm.tiktok.com/ZMJu8UBbP/.