"I think we're the only ones who will prioritize each other. And so if we're not creating spaces and businesses and opportunities for each other, they just won't happen." - Issa Rae
I've been producing a COVID- era blog every Friday during quarantine, but I missed last Friday, because I was co-launching the WE Collective, http://www.thewecollective.org/ a place for and by black women to find wellness, mental health, and community resources. Creating a space like this for those within our society who need it the most has been a heart cry of mine for some time, but it was difficult to move into the courage to believe I could actually make it happen until three women with a shared vision came alongside me. Together, we dare to believe that we have what it takes to create the resources we need most.
Here, find the first blog published exclusively on our site, on the importance of developing community with our beautiful brown sisters:
The importance of community between black women living in the 21st century cannot be understated. Since our ancestors were enslaved and brought to the Americas in chains some 400 years ago, we have faced many forms of discrimination. Throughout the generations since, black women have endured not only the oppression of slavery, but the humiliation of share cropping and the discrimination of Jim Crow. And those are just some of the trials black women endured 1964! From toxic masculinity to discrimination in the workplace, black women have been met with every form of oppression within a society which places white males at the top of the food chain. Many times, it has been the camaraderie and the laughter we share with our girlfriends which has helped us through the more difficult things in life. Think how good it feels to meet up with friends for brunch or share stressors about work over a couple of drinks at Happy Hour. A few hours of attunement and laughter with our girls, and even those of us who almost talked ourselves out of attending feel like we can return to fight the fight another day.
From real-life examples of enduring friendship, like BFFS Oprah and Gail, to portrayals on the large and small screens, we see the importance of friendship with our girls depicted in classics like Forest Whitaker’s and the Netflix remake of Spike Lee’s
One of my favorite depictions of the friendship between black women is , which aired on Fox network from 1993 -1998. The show depicts the sisterhood between
“While these friendships had their differences, not once were they created to make a Black woman feel bad about their being,” wrote Twelve Black Best Friends We'll Always Love ]. “They served as positive reinforcement to what it means to cultivate sisterhood. These friendships show we don’t need a white female sidekick standing beside us to uplift us or to even make us feel superior. Our sistahs are all we need in the end.”
Christina Shaw, a data specialist from Cleveland, Ohio, moved to Seattle, Washington when her husband got offered a job at Google. Finding herself in a city whose demographic was very different from Cleveland’s, Christina emphasized her need for black community. “These are the kinds of communities that support people in being their most healthy and thriving self. For me, community with fellow black women is that space.Its where I feel like I am going to be both understood and celebrated, and its where I can have real conversations and relationships rather than superficial ones.”
The WE Collective seeks to be a place of community for and by black women, so that (even in the era of COVID-19) we are able to cultivate spaces of community with one another. Our hope is that here, you will find resources and experience a sense of togetherness which allows you to cultivate joy, hope, and community despite the many trials we face as black women.