Black women.
We gave you Oprah, Beyoncé,
and all your favorite reaction memes.
I've heard people say they like their women
like they like their coffee:
strong, Black,
and hot enough to give you second-degree burns.
Careful what you wish for...
Darius.
But the thing is, not all Black women are strong,
and even the ones that are strong aren't just that.
We like doors opened for us, too.
Especially by someone with biceps, like Michael B. Jordan,
abs like Michael B. Jordan,
hair like Michael B. Jordan.
But unfortunately,
the strong Black woman stereotype is ingrained
in American culture.
It has a long history
about as old as Morgan Freeman and Betty White combined.
Now you may be wondering, what is a strong Black woman?
It's the idea that Black women are emotionally resilient,
naturally selfless, too proud to ask for help,
and can succeed with no resources.
So, basically, every character played by Viola Davis.
The irony is, the strong Black woman stereotype was started
by Black women to combat all the negative ones.
See, in the aftermath of slavery,
there were really only two stereotypes of Black women.
You were either some sex temptress Jezebel,
or a mammy who was just there to smother people in her bosom.
In response, Black suffragette Mary Church Terrell
coined the strong Black woman motto, "Lifting as we climb."
And I get what she was going for, but lift as we climb?
Even bodybuilders don't do both at the same time.
You can't expect a Black woman
to do more than Schwarzenegger in his prime.
But over time, society shrank a Black woman down
to just her strength.
And the popular conception now is
that Black women can bear and overcome any burden.
We see it all over our culture.
In movies like The Color Purple.
All my life, I had to fight.
And how can we forget Ghost,
where Whoopi Goldberg literally has
to let a white man use her body
to rub foreheads with his fiancée.
Even when Black women only have one line, it's strong as hell.
Move, or you will be moved.
Damn. At least let her say "hello."
But Dulcé, what's wrong with being perceived as strong?
Isn't it a good thing?
No! Not if Black women destroy their mental
and physical health trying to live up to it,
and not if people think Black women are so strong,
they make them do all the work on their own.
Look at Stacey Abrams.
She helped Democrats win Georgia, and before you knew it,
she was being asked to fix vaccine distribution,
the New York subway and Kim and Kanye's marriage.
The stereotype even reaches the doctor's office.
Black women are less likely to be properly diagnosed.
They have a much higher maternal mortality rate,
and they're less likely to be believed
about their symptoms and pain.
So a Black woman basically has to be a doctor
to know everything that's going on with her body,
and then convince another doctor that that's what's happening.
I was in a car accident.
I have contusions, lacerations and internal bleeding.
Uh, get me a morphine drip and prep surgery stat.
We'll get you a couple of Band-Aids, and you'll be fine.
What?
So, the next time
you see a Black woman struggling at work
or trying to lift a box, help her.
Don't just stand there
like you're about to see Wonder Woman in action.
In fact, if you're in the New York area...
I'm moving this week,
and I could use some help... moving my couch,
'cause I'll be damned if I'm gonna pull my back
lifting my own couch.
No.