Imagine.
You are living your best life, and then one day, it all ends. You have been taken away from your family. Your home, your country.
Chained.
Stuffed into cells in a prison and then onto a ship. Nake. Cold. Afraid. You are sexually abused and then forced to work. Forced to bare young, forced to be sub-human. And then, one day, freedom comes.
But you are still less than a woman. Still a sexual object and still the head of your house.
Your journey began in 1619 and continues to this day.
I watched you and wondered, what it must be like? To be black and a woman. Seeing others benefit from the fruits of your labor, and as bad as women, in general are treated, I think you are still treated worse. But right. I am not a woman and therefore, how could I know what you are thinking and the struggle you and your sisters face within my perception. How could I know?
I have never been afraid to ask a question. One professor at the University of Montana remarked to me “John, I am glad you ask so many questions. I know many others in the glass are thinking the same as you but are afraid to ask.”
Black women. What’s it like? What is it like to be a black woman in America, today? The answers to this question, and more are documented in the film, 19 Shades of Black.
Come with us on this journey and leave your thoughts and comments.