Black women are taught to work 10x as hard. It’s still not enough.

When I woke up today, Wednesday, November 6, 2024, I immediately checked the Presidential Election results. 224 (Harris) to 277 (Trump) stared back at me. Donald Trump would be the next President of the United States.

It was 6:41 AM. I will never forget how I felt at that moment. So many thoughts and emotions filled my body. I watched the sunrise while I processed my feelings. I could not believe what happened.

As Black women, we are taught from a very young age that we must work 10x as hard to just be considered on a level playing field. Even though we do this and do it well, we are still discounted.

Justice Ketanji Jackson is the first Black woman (and one of the most qualified) to sit on the Supreme Court. She still faced an unfathomable amount of racism and sexism during her confirmation process.

Vice President Kamala Harris is the first Black woman to hold this office. She has served as District Attorney of San Francisco, Attorney General of California, and a United States Senator. Her presidential campaign shared her plans for empowering Americans with significant down payment assistance for first-time homebuyers, support for small business owners, and enhanced child tax credits. She clearly demonstrated the epitome of what it means to work for all people.

During his campaign, Donald Trump did not indicate a single viable way of how he will help this country move forward. He has, however, said he’d abolish the Department of Education and conduct mass deportations.

If the roles were reversed, we would not be having this conversation. President Barack Obama could not even kill a fly without being crucified.

As a Black woman, I am exhausted. I think about what to tell our young people. I think about how I will have the strength to keep fighting for my people who need inspiration and hope that things will get better.

If you are in a position to support a Black woman or any person of color, the time to do so is now. Ever since we were kidnapped from Africa and brought to this land, we have had to fight tooth and nail to be seen, heard, and recognized. It’s still not enough.