A healthy dialogue is usually the answer to unhealthy problems, so why not talk about them with your sisters?
If you are interested in advancing social change with real life stories, opinions, views, and facts then the Black Women’s Dialogue at Georgia State University is for you. This is a monthly event led by the Office of Black Student Achievement that gives an outlet specifically tailored to the needs of black women. In a time where rights are being questioned and intersections are constantly being crossed, this space is needed. The Black Women’s Dialogue in total offers a place for every kind of black woman to come in and share what it is like to live as herself in the current times. This dialogue shows that sometimes, the past has to be undone and certain learned behavior needs to be shed in order to advance yourself.
This is important for several reasons which include inclusiveness, mental wellness, emotional rebuilding, and overall showing that black women can be soft and strong cohesively. Often times, black women are told to be one thing and one thing only, we are never usually given a choice to decide who we want to be that day when we too come with different identities. In a way, this program is a way to decompress without the pressures of anything outside of the doors directly interfering. Black women have emotions that often go ignored and being able to share those concerns with people who look like you can sometimes be the answer to many of our everyday problems. Yes, we are looked at as strong however, we are so much more than that.
Being a black woman in 2017 is such a complex idea in itself because of the many things that we are constantly fighting for. If we look back at the women’s march then we see that this is where many of our fights begin. Fighting for women’s rights is an all-inclusive factor in movements such as Black Lives Matter and civil rights, but often in that fight, black women are placed on the back. There is no one clear answer as to why, but even with the two movements mentioned above we were silenced and usually told to “sit pretty.”
While we are all things that are glitter, honey, cocoa butter, and gold it is about time we flipped the script, which is where the Black Women’s Dialogue comes in. This space offers so much more than a few quick words and a few questions. This space gives us the capacity to keep moving when we have not been practicing self-care as we should or if we have been putting others before ourselves like we are known to do. However, this is more than coming together to talk about the problems we face, it is a time where we can all come together to conjure up real solutions to what we know are real problems.
This is the true identity of black girl magic! An identity that cannot be described but can be conveyed through all of us. One thing this program teaches many of us, however, is to move on without the bitterness that the world tries to depict us as. We know as black women that we are portrayed as many things, some of which do not depict us in a positive light. Moving on without forgetting is a big lesson that takes so much time to grasp. Culturally we experience more trauma, body shaming, tears and grief without the proper tools to move on. We are told to move on without truly learning how which is where the Black Women’s Dialogue comes in. No, there is no one answer but being able to be surrounded by other women who get it and who have been there is a way to make your way to recovery.
If you have not yet attended the Black Women’s Dialogue and you are truly in need of some sisterly love you still have three more chances to attend. To check dates, locations and times visit the Office of Black Student Achievement for more information, and if you have friends who need this just as much as you do, bring them along to flourish in the black girl magic.