Malcolm X knew what he was talking about when he said: “The most disrespected person in America is the Black woman. The most unprotected person in America is the Black woman. The most neglected person in America is the Black woman.”
On July 12, the news surfaced that the rapper Megan Thee Stallion had been shot. Her devoted fans began trying to figure out why she was shot and who did it.
As time went on, there were those who prayed for Stallion’s recovery. But some turned her situation into a laughing stock for the internet.
By witnessing her condition and the fact that she was getting disrespected, tormented and joked about is only the tip of the iceberg of how Black women get mistreated, misunderstood and are often left unprotected by those who were always supposed to protect us.
The treatment of Black women has been an issue for centuries. From Black female slaves getting mistreated, raped and abused to having traumatic situations and the butt of jokes from the society we live in. Rapper 50 Cent, who is now better known for internet trolling, posted a meme depicting Lanez shooting Stallion, which was shared across all social media platforms, alongside several other celebrities, including Draya Michele and Cam’ron.
Draya Michele played into the mocking of Stallion by commenting on why Stallion was shot during a podcast interview she did a couple of weeks ago.
“I predict that they had some sort of Bobby & Whitney love that drove them down this type of road,” Michele said during the podcast. “I’m here for it. I like that. I want you to like me so much you shoot me in the foot too.”
Just witnessing someone with such a platform — and a Black woman at that — comment on another Black woman’s pain, only shows that even though Black women don’t get enough support or protection from others, it’s even harder when Black women can’t support each other because of ignorance and arrogance.
Black women’s concerns about their physical and emotional safety are not exaggerated. According to the Women’s Policy Research, statistics show that more than 40% of Black women will experience intimate partner violence in their lifetime and that they’re 2.5 times as likely to be killed by a man than white women. Black girls are also seen as adults from an earlier age; people view them as “less innocent ” and, at times, blame them for experiencing abuse. This can limit the compassion Black women and girls receive from their communities and from people in positions of authority.
The 25-year-old rapper took to Twitter on July 17 to speak out after she was shot, writing that Black women go unprotected and how Black women go about keeping their feelings stored for the consideration of others.
“Black women are so unprotected & we hold so many things in to protect the feelings of others w/o considering our own,” the Houston native wrote. “It might be funny to y’all on the internet and just another messy topic for you to talk about, but this is my real life, and I’m real-life hurt and traumatized.”
Stallion is still recovering from the damage to her foot, receiving even more love support from her loved ones and her fans all around.