Why it’s important to protect Black women – Megan Thee Stallion
Following the announcement of the criminal charges levelled against her alleged shooter Tory Lanez; Megan Thee Stallion has written in a New York Times op-ed about why it is important to protect Black women.
In the opinion piece Why I Speak Up for Black Women, the 25-year-old rapper digs into the idea that Black women; like herself, are “disrespected and degraded.”
In the essay, which she accompanied with a video, the WAP rapper addresses the traumatic events that have occurred since July 12; when rapper Tory Lanez allegedly shot Megan in her feet.
The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office announced last week that they had charged Lanez with one felony count of assault with a semi-automatic firearm. He also has another for carrying a loaded, unregistered firearm in a vehicle.
Megan wrote that initially, she stayed quiet about the incident because it “shocked” her that she “ended up in that place”; and was afraid for herself and loved ones.
“Even as a victim, I have been met with skepticism and judgment. The way people have publicly questioned and debated whether I played a role in my own violent assault; it proves that my fears about discussing what happened were, unfortunately, warranted,” Megan wrote.
“After a lot of self-reflection on that incident, I’ve realized that violence against women does not always happen in a relationship. Instead, it happens because too many men treat all women as objects; which helps them to justify inflicting abuse against us when we choose to exercise our own free will.”
Megan wrote that she has begun to understand the “weight of contradictory expectations and misguided preconceptions” that society places on Black women.
She addressed this in her performance on Saturday Night Live on Oct. 4. During Megan’s performance, the phrase “Protect Black women” was on a screen behind her; a phrase she said some find “controversial.”
“I recently used the stage at ‘Saturday Night Live’ to harshly rebuke Kentucky’s Attorney General Daniel Cameron for his appalling conduct in denying Breonna Taylor and her family justice,” Megan explained. “I anticipated some backlash.”
“But you know what? I’m not afraid of criticism. We live in a country where we have the freedom to criticize elected officials. And it’s ridiculous that some people think the simple phrase “Protect Black women” is controversial,” she continued.
“We deserve to protection as human beings. And we are entitled to our anger about a laundry list of mistreatment and neglect that we suffer.”
Megan also wrote “Black women are not naïve,” despite dealing with “conflicting messages” on a daily basis. But said she anticipates foreseeable change after next month’s election.
“My hope is that Kamala Harris’ candidacy for vice president will usher in an era where Black women in 2020 are no longer ‘making history’ for achieving things that should have been accomplished decades ago,” she wrote.
