March. May. October. My favourite months of the year. October for Black History Month, May as it’s my birth month and March is a double whammy: my business birthday and International Women’s Month.
This year feels kinda heavy though. Normally it’s all empowerment talks. Overcoming adversity. Advocating for whatever the theme of the year is – This year it’s ‘Breaking The Bias’.
What I really want to acknowledge – celebrate seems an inappropriate word for what I’m about to share – is the Black women on the frontlines.
So many weights are added to the Black woman’s identity. We’re fixers. We’re mules to carry the world’s vitrol. We’re overcomers. We’re defenders. We’re fighters. We’re relentless. We are trendsetters. We’re groundbreakers. We’re innovators. We’re leaders, nurtures. We’re everything that we need to be in any given moment.
What I’m noticing is that we’re always there, shedding a light. Like when the atrocity of May 2020 happened that was broadcast to the world – a defining moment of hurt – it was a young Black girl who captured everything on her phone. And once again, as we head deeper in 2022, one story struck me from my timeline: Black women galvanising people to raise money to get stranded Black students out of the developing war in the Ukraine.
Whiteness comes before humanity
We all watched, enraged by the unfolding conflict in the Ukraine, currently being led and orchestrated by a few in positions of power, a result of years of pissing contests between generations of white, male leaders. That was already tragic how the masses were being made to suffer ideology, politics, and power.
Where it became a trigger to me was when news reports started emerging of Black people (and other ethnicities) being turned away at borders so Ukrainians – read ‘white people’ could be propritised.
A wound was poked at where, yet again, Black communities globally were having to watch people that look like us suffer and be treated as less than human. I call the Black experience death by a thousand cuts. Every day, we already have to navigate hostility, microagressions, and the like in our own patch of the world. Doing what we can to survive and pursue personal happiness, hyper aware the system is always watching and assessing whether you’re a threat to be neutralised.
So it was no surprise when women like Tokunbo Koik, Patrica Daley, and Korrine Sky started trending on Twitter and another socials for raising money to extract Black students out of the Ukraine after Russia declared war on the country.
Reports emerged that Black students were being turned away at neighbouring borders to prioritise ‘Ukrainians’ (Read = White). African (male-led) governments from what I can see remained silent and motionless whilst three women simply made a decision to raise money and distribute it. They are also extremely dedicated to transparency and documenting their actions.
These are three enterprising women who simply made a decision that will ultimately save countless lives. So far, they’ve raised £90k across various platform.
They are the representation we need for IWD22 and should be acknowledged.
Here’s a statement from the women below. You can find out the latest updates on their work at www.blackwomenforblacklives.org
