Stereotypes among different racial groups run a dime a dozen. When it comes to black women stereotypes, I’ve heard them all. Sometimes people make generalizations based on humor, but often times they are downright offensive.
Most recently the Atlanta Hawks’ general manager, Wes Wilcox joked about the “angry black woman” stereotype, which got my husband and I talking about his off the cuff remarks.
Is There Truth to Black Women Stereotypes?
Wilcox took questions from a large group of season ticket holders prior to a game against the Miami Heat back in December. Like most diehard fans, the group began offering their two cents about what the Hawks needed to do to win. However, no one could have anticipated that Wilcox would have reacted the way he did.
According to Deadspin, season ticket holder Clarenton Crawford spoke out against coach Mike Budenholzer and offered to renew for two more seasons, if the organization hired Mark Jackson instead.
Another fan said the team needed a veteran point guard. Someone asked Wilcox why the “Hawks’ best players were playing fewer minutes than they were at the start of the year.”
Crawford (who is black) and another source went on to say that Wilcox, who is white, tried to diffuse the tension with a joke:
“I know you guys may be angry with me, but I’m used to it because I have a black wife and three mixed kids, so I’m used to people being angry and argumentative.”
Previous Racial Comments by Atlanta Hawks GM
For the record, this isn’t the first time a GM made racially charged comments. Former Atlanta Hawks General Manager, Danny Ferry made offensive remarks against Sudanese-British player, Luol Deng.
Former owner Bruce Levenson also sent an email that implied that white fans were more valuable than black fans. Both Ferry and Levinson no longer work with the Hawks, however, the incident has left a stain on the team. As you can imagine, the recent “black women stereotypes” that Wilcox made certainly doesn’t help the situation.
Crawford has since emailed Hawks CEO Steve Koonin to voice his concerns, and Koonan later apologized for Wilcox’s behavior.
Wilcox also issued this apology:
“At an early December chalk talk, I made a self-deprecating comment at my own expense regarding my family, which is multi-racial. This joke offended Mr. Crawford and his wife and for that, I apologize.”
Clearly, Wilcox’s didn’t mean any malice. But there’s still no excuse for implying that black women are always angry. That’s just not true. This is the kind of black women stereotypes that give us all a bad name, especially in a professional setting.
Unfortunately, there are people who may hear his remarks and think that he’s telling the truth. After all, his wife is black, and their kids are biracial. This guy must know what he’s talking about, right? Wrong! Sadly, that’s how some people may feel about his comments – humous or not.
I’ll be the first to admit that we sometimes joke about black and white stereotypes. But there is time and a place for it, and a public setting like this one was certainly not the place.
Black Women Stereotypes That Aren’t Always True
We have negative attitudes and are argumentative
Some people think that all black women are bitchy. However, that’s not always the case. I think it has a lot to do with how society treats us, especially in the workplace. Black women are often overlooked, so we often put up a shield as a way to protect ourselves.
Black women don’t support other black women
This stereotype stems from the way society puts us against each other. There’s an unwritten rule that there could only be “one token,” so black women often claw their way to the top even if it means backstabbing their own. But, that’s not always true. I work in a cut throat industry and most of my mentors and friends in the industry are black women.
We take too much pride in our hair
There are a lot of black women who fall under this stereotype. In fact, I know ladies who would spend their last dime on their hair. But, we’ve also come a long way and have defied this stereotype. Now more women of color are taking pride in their natural curls. While we embrace our naturally kinky curly hair, it no longer define us.
We don’t like to get our hair wet
I’ll be the first to admit it. I don’t like to get my hair wet unless it’s wash day. Shampooing my hair is a long arduous process, but that doesn’t mean that all black women feel that way.
We only date guys with a lot of money
This isn’t just a black woman stereotype. Women of all racial and cultural backgrounds look to date guys with a lot of money. For the record, I’m not one of them.
So what do you think? Is there any truth to black women stereotypes?
To answer your question, no. Stereotypes are gross generalizations used by lazy, biased people who are unwilling to learn anything about people who are different than they are. They prefer to focus on (usually) the negative aspects of the minority within a group and then use them to label the ENTIRE group. The fact that everyone is unique seems lost to them. The Jim Crow Museum website describes the origin of the ‘Angry Black Woman’ stereotype (and others) and how it is used (select the Sapphire caricature).
This society also uses double standards when it comes to race. What is considered as being assertive for white women is considered as being aggressive when black women engage in similar behaviors. For example, I noticed that people will focus on loud black women to the complete exclusion of soft-spoken black women while, at the same time, ignore loud white women (Yes, they do exist. Three of them were sitting behind me on a flight recently). No one claims that ALL white women are loud and obnoxious because some white women are.
It does make me wonder what would have happened if those white women, who were loudly talking and laughing in the row behind me, had been black. No one complained about them and they weren’t asked to lower their voices. I bet my entire year’s salary that if they had been black, several passengers would have complained and they would have been asked to lower their voices.