B*tch Slapped

I was going to use this space to talk about the Will Smith slap at the Oscars. Watching it live was nothing short of hilarious. But I truly think that there are more important things to talk about. Will and Jada been crazy… too much of that Scientology juice. Honestly, I’ve come to expect bizzarro from them two. While people like me think it’s no big deal, just two brothers upset with each other. A moment in time, you know? But there’s the other side of the spectrum, “this was a formal event,” “he wouldn’t have done that to a white person,” “how does this make US look?” Sure, it makes US as a people look bad, but why does an altercation between two black men have to be representative of the entire race. That’s like thinking that every white man acts like Donald Trump. You see it’s not a fair assumption. But anyways, I digress. I wasn’t supposed to be talking about that. Instead, I wanted to touch upon a moment of unity within the black community, not division.

Let’s bring up our new Associate Supreme Court Justice Judge Kentaji Brown and New Jersey Senator Cory Booker. Brown spoke so eloquently when barraged with pointless and meandering questions from mostly white Republican Senators. I applaud her for that. She was cool, calm and collected. But it was Cory Booker’s heartfelt speech that moved her tears. She is the first black woman out of 115 Supreme Court justices to serve. Booker said, “this is not a normal moment… we are opening the doors of diverse talent.” He went on to talk about how this moment was iconic and bigger than Kentaji, and meant the world to him and his family. It was a moment filled with loved.

I know I said I wasn’t going to talk about it, but I need to double back to the Will Smith slap, because there is one part that people bring up that goes hand in hand with the point I am making. Some people say that Will Smith walked up on stage and slapped Chris Rock for his wife Jada… to protect her feelings. Now, as I said earlier – a moment is a moment, but this argument is full of sh!t. Black women are almost always under attack, we always have to fight. So Jada could have handled them off-color jokes Rock was peddling. A true example of protecting a black woman was Booker. Booker let the world know that Judge Brown was worth her weight in gold, that she was beautiful, valuable, and magical in a way that a slap could never do. Violence and anger have their place, but love will always prevail. While I know the Will Smith slap will get more attention than Judge Brown will ever get, it doesn’t mean it’s not worthy. While the bloggers continue on this #ProtectBlackWomen at all costs initiative. I want to point out that there are some men out here doing it the right way, and they’re not even married to them. Just out here loving, respecting, and honoring the black women are shining, and that’s pretty great to me.

Enjoy your month. Shoutout to all the mom’s out there. Shoutout to all the men that protect their ladies.

With love,

Attiyya Atkins