250 years. Two and a half centuries. That’s how old this country is. It’s one of the youngest countries and it shows: temper tantrums, growing pains, lashing out. Its identity is new, confused and oftentimes too grand for itself.
Then there’s us; Black women. We’ve been here through it all, for better and for worse. For our joys and ways we’ve struggled. It’s difficult to write about being a Black woman in America without mentioning struggle. It’s been synonymously associated with our experience. And although struggle implies resistance—not passivity. It implies our chronic lack of rest and strength, even in times we don’t want to be correlated to what we do, but the people we are.
Many of us feel a similar exhaustion from the brutalities enforced on it, but our struggle runs parallel to our joy. We can’t deny the beauty that we’ve brung to this 250 years. Our humor, style, persistence, our influence in art and expression, the trails we blaze in setting up our rights in politics for others to be inspired to do the same. The impact we have is undeniable.
When we think of the women who have made this country proud of its 250 years, many of us may think of the achievements of some of the obvious: Harriet Tubman, Phillis Wheatley, Madame C.J. Walker, Coretta Scott King, Maya Angelou, Marsha P. Johnson, Michelle Obama.
We may also think of the women in our lives: Mothers, aunts, sisters, grandmothers, cousins, teachers, neighbors, random women in the store lines who remind us to register and vote, or sigh with us when the politics are politic-ing. The ones who grieve with us when the lives of the ones we love or look like us are threatened or taken.
From making sure we are seen as people—not property, ensuring the safety of our communities, to establishing our futures by being some of the most educated people in America.
No, we are not a monolith, but our resilience over the last 250 years is irrefutable. Even with our varied experiences, trajectories, goals and perspectives, the way we’ve moved forward in a lockstep is impressive. It’s fair to say nobody can do it like we can. Will America be here another 250 years, given its political past and direction? Some sources say time is up, but we as Black women, we’ll always be here.