Dear Black Woman, You Are Not Alone in Your Griefنموونە

You Are Not Alone

We are all interconnected. And Black women are at the center of it all. When one in our community hurts, we all hurt. Think of how you feel when you see a Black or Brown face in the media who has been harmed, unjustly violated, or even worse, killed.

Think of the moment when forty-six-year-old George Floyd called “Momma! Momma!” in his last moments of life, just before being killed unjustly by police. At that moment every Black woman in America took notice as he pointed us to the Black woman who gave him life. It felt like our loved one died. Our hearts were broken for our community. We collectively grieved.

Because of our village mentality as Black women, witnessing deaths due to unjust police brutality ignites grief among us. We are often in a constant state of grief, whether navigating personal loss, familial losses, or things that are happening in our culture and nation that directly affect our communities.

And with this, when we express our grief publicly, it makes others uncomfortable. It’s met with disbelief, or it’s diminished instead of being affirmed. So, we keep it to ourselves, and we often tuck it away and keep it moving. Thus, we feel alone, we grieve alone. And this silenced grief leaves us feeling as if “we can’t breathe.”

But I’m here to tell you, dear Black woman, that you are not alone. God is with you and me. Just as he was with Daniel in the lion’s den, with the Hebrew boys in the fiery furnace, with Esther when she stood before the king, our God is with us in our grief and every situation we face. And not only is he with us, but he is fighting for us.

He has not disregarded your pain and suffering. He sees you. He knows you. He understands.