Why can't Black Girls Rock?

After reading Stacy Patton's article in Dame Magazine, "Why won't Becky let Black Girl's rock?", I had a few thoughts of my own.

Atlanta Daily World illuminating that the usual brown badgers have already deemed the Black Girls Rock gala to be racist.

So what has the girl world in such an uproar? What words did the FLOTUS actually say that caused so much turmoil? 
"No matter who you are, no matter where you come from, you are beautiful. I am so proud of you. My husband, your president, is so proud of you. We have so much hope and dreams for you... I know there are voices that you are not good enough. Each of those doubts was like a test that I either shrink away from or rise to meet. And I decided to rise."

That's it. Thats what she said. And what should have been a inspiring rally cry for a frequently oppressed group became a firestorm poised to demonize a woman who knows the daily struggle of black women all too well. 

I'm sorry, Michelle. Apparently you, as the First Lady of The United states cannot affirm a group of women that have been traditionally marginalized, abused, ostracized, preyed upon, and taken advantage of, even if you are part of that group and theirs xperience is your experience. Their story is your story. But none of that matters. I guess no matter what your story is, as the First Lady, you must ignore that, even at the expense of your own voice and voice of your daughters.

"It's a subtle kind of murder, the killing of black girls' self-confidence. In a culture like ours that regularly dehumanizes and denigrates the bodies and identities of black women -- even the First Lady of the United States isn't exempt, after all -- it's easy to miss the often indistinct ways that black girls and women are cast as inferior to the identities and pursuits of white women." Says Olivia Cole from Huff Post.

You don't even need a White Girls Rock campaign. You have all of American culture to affirm that. Yes, while my Caucasian sisters do face their own struggles and battles as women in a still male dominated society, those struggles are instantly compounded once you add the additional element of being an African American As WELL AS a Woman. Your images are plastered in magazines as the standard of beauty.you are frequently portrayed as loving wives and doting mothers, successful doctors, lawyers, business owners, friends. No one questions your giftedness, talent, or worth. You are desired, beautiful, strong, and successful.

Imagine if everywhere you turned, the culture said otherwise. You open a magazine, say a Cosmo magazine, and see those with your color being called unfashionable and out of date along side of women of a different shade whose images are under the title "Hello Gorgeous". You turn on TV and you see those like you portrayed as mistresses, sassy sidekicks, crass baby mamas, and the like more often than you see them doing otherwise. Your contributions to history are rarely ever mentioned. Your own beauty is either not mentioned at all or deemed "untraditional" or worse, ethnic or exotic. You are constantly told by media that you are not marriable, not desired, not even sexy and yet at the same time, should you ever attempt to do a google search for the term "Black Women", the majority of what will come from your search is over sexualized, boarder line animalistic images women your color.

And yet, despite all of the cultural assaults and battles you fight daily, you still are graduating in higher education at increasing numbers each year, you are one of the most rapidly growing groups of successful business owners and entrepreneurs in the country, you are a vital asset to your communities and groups of faith, you are supportive of your families and have deep and successful relationships (despite what media says) and you still manage to see not only your own beauty, but the beauty of others. 

How does that not make you rock?

So I have to ask, why can't Black Girls Rock? Asian Girls Rock. Latina Girls Rock. Middle Eastern Girls Rock. Native American Girls Rock. And yes, White Girls Rock too. The affirmation and appreciation of one group is not the depreciation of any others, but gives us all simultaneous permission to appreciate the beauty and strength within us all and to celebrate our differences while rejoicing in our own lovely commonalities. 

In that vein is where I believe a Michelle Obama stands, chanting an affirmation that the descendants of ancient queens and the great grand daughters of slaves and servants need to hear. Black Girls Rock.