(ThyBlackMan.com)
Reflections of a proud father: My daughter Kathryn, declared once she graduated from kindergarten, “girls can do anything dad; one day I’m gonna be a doctor!” I responded incredulously, you go girl!” I shall revisit this premise again at the close of this article.
One need only look to the race for the Alabama Senate in October of 2017 to see how powerful black women are. The seat was vacated by Attorney General Jeffrey Beauregard Sessions; pitting Doug Jones against suspected child predator, Roy Moore. Exit polls showed that 98 percent of Black Women that voted cast a ballot for Jones, and many election observers credited his surprising win to black women’s turnout. Most black men also voted for Jones, but two-thirds of white women and nearly three-quarters of white men chose Moore.
Black women, in other words, became the symbol of resistance in an election that captured our attention with the perplexing prospect that Alabamians would send to the United States Senate a racially divisive candidate accused of predatory sexual misconduct with teenage girls. 
National political figures also weighed in. “Let me be clear: We won in Alabama and Virginia because Black Women led us to victory,” Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez countered. “Black women are the backbone of the Democratic Party, and we can’t take that for granted. Period.”
The narrative that black women “saved America” by blocking Roy Moore from the Senate with their votes was picked up in media circles, with political strategists and journalists alike rapidly moving to dissect what the Alabama performance might mean for political contests in 2018 and 2020.
The rise of the “be all that she can be” rescuer narrative also obscures another forbidding truth: While black women are a crucial voting bloc capable of winning close contests, they are sorely understated visa vie seats of political power.
Black Women are the Embodiment of Strength
The monetary responsibility of the family is sometimes or mostly shouldered by the black woman; research also proves that over 70% of black mothers are the sole providers of their family. For this reason and others is why the fiscal well-being of the woman is very essential. Likened with the monetary responsibility of white mothers which is just over 40%, it shows that the ratio of black women breadwinners and white women breadwinners is not at par. Essentially, it has been proven that over half of the black women sole providers are doing so singlehandedly.
Employment of Black Women
28% of black women work in the service division which gives them minimum wages. These jobs usually provide limited welfares such as suitable health upkeep and salaried sick days. The news shows that although most black women provide services for other families, they cannot pay for the exact services for their families. Even though the amount of black women in the labour market has increased drastically more than other races, their jobs are not protected. According to reports, black women labour market involvement is 62.2%, while that of Asian women and white women are 59% and 57% respectively, this proves the earlier statement that black women have a higher involvement in the labour force. They, however, have the highest probability to be fired as the unemployment rates as at 2015 show the black women unemployment rate to be at 8.9% which is one of the highest for all races.
Rate of Poverty of Black Women
The poverty rate of the average black woman is higher than any other racial group except the Inborn American women. This was proven in a study which showed that in the 10-year gap between the year 2004 and the year 2014, the average annual earnings for full time working black women reduced to $34,000 which is lower than what other racial groups of both men and women earn.
Black Women are not remunerated for their Efforts
Black women work twice as hard as women of other races because of they are relied on and they have to meet up to the expectations. Black women all through history have earned higher degrees more than other races, yet they are not treated equally even in the economic areas in spite of their labours and ambitions for ethnic and gender impartiality all through antiquity.
Despite the fact that black women have made noteworthy efforts in terms of education which should aid them in circumventing and conquering the various financial problems that they face, the reverse is the case. Research shows that over 20% of black women all have a higher degree which is a step up from what they were before. The white women, on the other hand, have over 30% of higher degree holders. Despite the educational process of black women, they do not earn as much as their white counterparts who have the same degrees as they do.
Studies show that the average incomes of higher degree holders were $56,000 for white women, $57,000 for Asian women and $50,000 for black women. These studies show that despite the fact that black women make up a higher percentage of the labour market than women of other races and the fact that they value and put effort into education, they are still not obtaining the profits for their efforts and accomplishments. This lack of remuneration affects the various black families that rely on the earning of the black women who are the sole providers of their respective homes.
Discriminations Faced by Black Women
The probability of the black girl child being castigated and disciplined in the scholastic institutions, be it public or private schools is higher to that of their white colleagues. Research has proved that the black woman is further likely to be detained or to be a victim of domestic cruelty.
Various reports have also shown that although black women have the highest chance of being afflicted with fatal illnesses, they, however, do not have the health security required for treatments. This has had a terrible impact on the black families as the ability of black women to cater for their families is derailed.
Methods of Advancing the Situation of Black Women
In the quest to advance the situation of black women, reports recommend that there is a need for union associations which could build-up the wages of black women by 30% or more every week. They also recommend changes in the strategies, which will improve the economic lifestyle of black women in terms of earnings, health security and so on. Lastly, black women embodiment in politics will help a great deal as it will be an opportunity to speak on the difficulties encountered by black women.
My daughter Kathryn, was right because education appears to be a key to unlocking the doors of adversity for “girls”. While there are a growing number of Black women completing their degrees, in general, the number of Black women entering the threshold has not changed to match the number of Black women who have already obtained their PhDs, for example. Academic investigations of Black women as a group is essential and unavoidable regarding understanding Black women’s issues, their organizations and the diminished perspectives the society seems to forget that they represent. I feel much better today knowing that world will soon be saved by Kathryn and her band of aspiring friends; I’ll borrow a catch phrase from singer Beyoncé; “Who runs the world…girls!”
Staff Writer; Stanley G. Buford
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