The Black Woman

American Women

Today’s American woman is confronted with varying degrees of mental stress from social biological and environmental factors. As women, we are prone to internalize our thoughts and feelings, while toughing it out. Women are twice as likely to experience major depression, we are up to 3 times more likely to suffer from anxiety disorders or to attempt suicide.

Stats about women and stress

• Women are more likely than men (28 percent vs. 20 percent) to report having a great deal of stress (8, 9 or 10 on a 10-point scale).
• Almost half of all women (49 percent) surveyed said their stress has increased over the past five years, compared to four in 10 (39 percent) men.
• Women are more likely to report that money (79 percent compared with 73 percent of men) and the economy (68 percent compared with 61 percent of men) are sources of stress while men are far more likely to cite that work is a source of stress (76 percent compared with 65 percent of women)

site: American Psychology Association

We can agree that women are not valued or treated as well as men or afforded the same opportunities. I am a woman who loves and appreciates woman. My personal brand and mission is to “Help women feel good about themselves and the world around them helping them get the most out of life.”

In my personal life I try not to make a distinction between black woman and white women because we are all women. I clearly know white women benefit from white privilege as does white males. I’ve always thought it was more important to highlight our similarities. I don’t blame a white woman for her privilege. I think it is only problematic when she doesn’t acknowledge her privilege or when she uses her privilege to devalue or oppress those less fortunate . ie Judge Sarah Heidel’s abuse of Power.

According to Economic Policy Institute

The black woman’s experience in America provides arguably the most overwhelming evidence of the persistent and ongoing drag from gender and race discrimination on the economic fate of workers and families.

Black women’s labor market position is the result of employer practices and government policies that disadvantaged black women relative to white women and men. Negative representations of black womanhood have reinforced these discriminatory practices and policies. Since the era of slavery, the dominant view of black women has been that they should be workers, a view that contributed to their devaluation as mothers with caregiving needs at home. African-American women’s unique labor market history and current occupational status reflects these beliefs and practices.

The above statement speaks to my personal situation. My husband urged me to become a stay at home mom after I suffered a horrible back injury in 2008. After my husband abandoned me in 2018, I was forced to drive for rideshare because I couldn’t secure employment due to lack of work experience. ( I had not held a position since I severely injured my back in 2008) I had no income. I went a year of separation from my husband without asking for any spousal support. During that time I struggled. I made well below minimum wage, I was involved in 3 motor vehicle collision that exasperated my already compromised lumbar, and also left me with concussion syndrome. Judge Sarah Heidel imputed me with minimum wage after I demonstrated I had medical issues and the likelihood of me obtaining employment was slim.

Negative Racial Stereotypes and Their Effect on Attitudes Toward African-Americans

Laura Green
Virginia Commonwealth University

Description of the Problem

The racial stereotypes of early American history had a significant role in shaping attitudes toward African-Americans during that time. Images of the Sambo, Jim Crow, the Savage, Mammy, Aunt Jemimah, Sapphire, and Jezebelle may not be as powerful today, yet they are still alive.

One of the most enduring stereotypes in American history is that of the Sambo (Boskin, 1986). This pervasive image of a simple-minded, docile black dates back at least as far as the colonization of America. The Sambo stereotype flourished during the reign of slavery in the United States. White slave owners molded Blacks, as a whole, into this image of a jolly, overgrown child who was happy to serve his master. However, the Sambo was seen as naturally lazy and therefore reliant upon his master for direction. In this way, the institution of slavery was justified. However, it was not only slave owners who adopted the Sambo stereotype (Boskin, 1989). Although Sambo was born out of a defense for slavery, it extended far beyond these bounds. It is essential to realize the vast scope of this stereotype. It was transmitted through music titles and lyrics, folk sayings, literature, children’s stories and games, postcards, restaurant names and menus, and thousands of artifacts (Goings, 1994). White women, men and children across the country embraced the image of the black people. It was perpetuated over and over, shaping enduring attitudes toward African-Americans for centuries. In fact, “a stereotype may be so consistently and authoritatively transmitted in each generation from parent to child that it seems almost a biological fact” (Boskin, 1986, p. 12).

This attitude can be witness in Judge Sarah Heidel’s court room. The very first thing Judge Sarah Heidel said to me, and a black associate attorney at my first hearing heard by Judge Sarah Heidel. I said, hello to attorney Alethia Smith. Nice to meet you, because I hadn’t met her before. She was standing in for my husband’s lead attorney. You can read the transcripts where Judge Sarah Heidel reprimands us, saying this isn’t social hour. As if we were ignorant lazy niggas who needed to be directed. After reading court transcripts it will reveal Empirical evidence of Judge Sarah Heidel racial bias, and mistreatment of a black woman solely because she is a black woman. You observe the condescending “Slave Master” mentally during a hearing for Attorney Fees, she says.