To Ms. Brown. From me.

Dear Elsa Barkley Brown,

You will be pleased to know about the recent feminist movement we have currently going on.

However, you will not be pleased, nor surprised, to know that white women have dominated the movement.

Feminists don’t reference black women specifically. Feminism is for the betterment of women overall and it is simply not necessary to directly speak to individual races. All women were created equally.

But not all women are treated equally. The white woman’s experiences and hardships are simply a small fraction of what women of color endure. But that is not important. We need not speak on that. Because all women were created equally. And we need all voices speaking together to be heard. We are not to remind everyone that some women are colored and some are white because we are not to challenge the harmony of the feminist movement. Feminists are for the betterment of all women, not just your race. Don’t be selfish.

For some reason, being pro-women’s rights and pro-black have become mutually exclusive.

You mentioned that for many, identifying race can be a distraction. However, the race, class, gender, and background of an individual adds to the story…gives it character. Still to this day, mentioning race is off-putting to white people. They want to “not see color”. However, color is everywhere. There is nothing wrong with seeing color, but everything wrong with treating others differently because of the color you see on their skin. And there is everything wrong with denying the fact that different races are treated differently simply because you choose to “not see color”.

The struggles of white women have become the norm. When we do not mention any specifications of the incidents and stories, the assumption is white women. However, it is important to understand all aspects of a case to argue why it should be discussed.

Feminists should never try to separate being pro-women’s rights and being pro-black because in history, it has been black success that has helped prevail white women. To be a feminist should be to understand that the strengths black women possess from their past, help all women, and should be discussed. Never silenced.

Thank you,

Sanura N’Jaka