Black Women Tragedies isn’t a joke.
The glorification behind black women’s tragedies has been highlighted in recent events. Megan the Stallion was recently at the center of a scandal as the alleged shooter, artist Tory Lanez, shot her multiple times in the foot.
Instead of the community rallying behind her with support and love, there were some who made a mockery of her pain. Unfortunately, we’ve seen countless times where Black women’s tragedy has a comedic response.
Black women have been the backbone of the music industry. Using their own experiences to fuel pop, R&B, rap, country, and more.
Without original artists like Anita Baker, India Aarie, Mary J. Blidge, Jill Scott using their music to paint the picture of their own personal struggles as black women, the industry would look a lot different. They mirrored their own experiences their fans across the globe could resonate with.
After all the negative backlash, Megan released a statement:
Black women are so unprotected & we hold so many things in to protect the feelings of others w/o considering our own. It might be funny to y’all on the internet and just another messy topic for you to talk about but this is my real life and I’m real life hurt and traumatized.
— HOT GIRL MEG (@theestallion) July 17, 2020
What’s disheartening about this entire situation is the real-life trauma Megan experienced is being taken as a joke. It’s a trauma that will stay with her for the rest of her life. It continues to be devalued at the hands of her peers and the music industry.
As an industry, now more than ever, it’s everyone’s place to speak up about uplifting the black women artist. Because without the influences of black women, the industry you know now wouldn’t exist.
Madison Hunt is an aspiring music journalist from Washington DC. Her love for music started at a young age, having played the percussion since the fourth grade, music has always been a huge part of her life. She has an extensive resume writing for local publications within the metropolitan area. Her hopes are to highlight the potential of the DMV music market, as well as, create impactful stories surrounding the progression of the music industry. She specializes in covering neo-soul events and musicians. Some of her favorite musicians include Lauryn Hill, India Arie, SZA, John Legend, Musiq Soulchild, and more.
