No one I'd rather be...

If you could choose to be any race or gender, would you still be a Black Woman?

This was a question that I saw in a Facebook group that I am a member.

The short answer to this question is YES!

While society can barely "Say Her Name" (Sandra Bland and the countless other black female victims of police brutality), refer to us as "nappy headed hos" if we don't fit society's standard of femininity and beauty (comment from Don Imus stated on April 4, 2007 about the Rutgers University Women's Basketball Team), and deny us opportunities and overlook us for jobs that we are beyond capable of executing (Zoe Saldana being cast as the legendary Nina Simone and having to put on black face and a prosthetic nose to "fit" the role), there is no other race or gender that I would rather be than a black woman.

As a whole, we are seen as having two strikes against us: being black and being a women, both regarded as less than quintessential. For centuries, we have gone through a plethora of struggles; however, these struggles have made us adaptable and strengthen us to overcome any obstacle that we may face. Racism, sexism, and colorism are issues that black women face but we continue to break through the glass "-ism" ceiling and forge a way to be successful. To me, being a black women means to be tenacious, passionate, sassy, talented, beautiful, intelligent, enterprising, stylistic, witty, astute, and so much more and there is no one that I'd rather be than a black woman.

Written by Ny Qunaa