The 16th annual BET Awards ceremony was held in Los Angeles this past Sunday. Through all the comedic bits and star-studded performances (Bey herself came through to perform her black power anthem Freedom with Kendrick Lamar) the most memorable moment came from actor and activist Jesse Williams. Williams accepted his humanitarian award and gave one of the most poignant and moving speeches in the history of the ceremony.
Many likened Williams words to poetry as he eloquently rejected systemic racism, black celebrity consumerism and cultural appropriation. But the line that had many black folks talking was his explicit uplifting of black women.
But some black men felt a way about Jesse Williams’ unabashed celebration of black womanhood.
black men have been saying what Jesse Williams said for YEARS lmao just say if all black men looked like Jesse you’d actually listen
— ✈️✈️✈️ (@SoloDahJedi) June 27, 2016
Only reason Jesse Williams speech is even being discussed is because he exalted bl**k women in his speech looool
— 🅱️🅱️🅱️roke and Ashy (@olaoluwakiwms) June 27, 2016
Speech was generic, full of fluff, and nothing we have not heard but I guess because he mentioned them the speech is considered top notch
— 🅱️🅱️🅱️roke and Ashy (@olaoluwakiwms) June 27, 2016
Which is why a lot of BW found the message of Jesse Williams easier to digest than that of Tariq Nasheed.
— I STAND WITH DR. UMAR ♠💀🇳🇬 (@JohnnyACE562) June 28, 2016
Some black women eloquently responded to the ignorant critiques with receipts.
Y’all not coming for us for praising Jessie “Woke Bae” Williams for standing while a lot of y’all CIS- Black Men stand there in silence.
— Nola Darling’s Little Black Dress 🖤 (@FL_Classy) June 27, 2016
Can I just say how tickled I am to see card carrying members of ‘ItsJustPreference’ pretend to care about colorism cuz of Jesse Williams?
— DarkSkintDostoyevsky🎄 (@daniecal) June 27, 2016
Jesse Williams once defended me privately in the same way he publicly stood up for black women last night. I am here for it.
— Ashley Mosley (@ashmosley) June 27, 2016
Here are the facts; in a society where black women face higher rates of sexual, emotional and physical violence than other ethnicities of women, we find ourselves with very few public defenders.
When popular London nightclub DSTRKT refused entry to dark-skinned black women, very few black male entertainers spoke out — despite having performed at or attended the club. Singer Omarion was the only black male American entertainer to boycott the establishment. And last year — in the thick of Black Lives Matter — barely anyone showed up for a NY protest for Rekia Boyd, who was shot in the head and killed by police while standing in a Chicago park.
It is heartbreaking to compare this to the outpouring of public support high profile black women have shown black men. From Beyonce paying homage to Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown and others in Lemonade, to Janelle Monae’s protest anthem Hell You Talmbout, black women consistently fall in line for black men, but find that the crowds thin considerably when we need support on issues of sexual and domestic violence, and culturally accepted misogyny.
Jesse Williams is one of the few and only high profile black men who has used a public platform to praise and ‘rep’ black women. And it was just ONE LINE. It is very disturbing that some men feel that black women do not deserve ONE SENTENCE of affirmation on prime time television.
The ladies responses were perfect
Some people just need to delete their social media accounts.
Great article — I despair sometimes over the brothers, I really do. Keep doing what you’re doing Jesse, may God continue to guide and protect your path. Your work here isn’t done. We need you, and more like you. #WarriorProtectors
I don’t know why anyone is surprised by these black male reactions. Black men have a scapegoat (black women), black women do not–hence as to why we tend to have a full scope (racism, sexism) of the issues plaguing us as a people. Black men have a blind spot–patriachy, which allows them some refuge for their failures in society as a whole, while black women do not any for their failures in society as a whole. I believe, this has led more of us to evolve (education, entrepeuner) and make changes to better ourselves a lot quicker than black men.… Read more »
But women still get the message that they are less worthy without a man.
I’m not surprised that our black men would have backlash towards Jesse Williams. They have NO respect for US as black women. I’m speaking as a dark skinned black woman. The ignorance among other cultures is one thing, but to have our own kind NEVER give us our props is one thing. I find it VERY interesting that Jesse Williams is from a white mom and a black father…however he IDENTFIES himself as being a black man! Finally a man that gets it! I’ve asked the question numerous times to men that were bi-racial…particularly (black man, white woman) do you… Read more »
Then maybe start with not calling them “our” black men. Why claim those that despise you as your own ?
Fantastic input on this topic. Kudos.
How many dark skinned men have said they don’t want to have children with dark women? How many have exalted light skin and light eyes? How many have told us our natural hair is ugly? Sure, there are plenty of people touting the same message, but Jesse took that moment to speak up. There are plenty who have the opportunity to build us up but don’t. Be mad at yourself that you were too timid.
There’s a reason that these dudes have names like “Food for thot” and “Broke and Ashy” lmao They can stay pressed. If they’re mad because a Black man, who is both biracial and light skinned, is standing up for Black women then they’re the ones he’s talking about when he says “We can and will do better for you”. There is nothing wrong with Light-Skinned Black people using their light-skinned privilege to spread the message that no one wants to listen to from someone of a darker complexion. My real question that i want to know about is if anyone… Read more »
Instead of using our energy to defend and support black men who don’t reciprocate, black women need to wake up and move our energy elsewhere. Save that energy and financial support to advance ourselves instead of continuously assisting black men who have shown time and time again that we aren’t worth it to them. If they wanna praise Becky, well let Becky do their bidding and marching and back rubbing. We as black women aren’t using our power appropriately and it’s time to show black men we mean business by walking away. Men learn from doing not talking and as… Read more »
Word!
My sentiments exactly!
Why do we say “society” when we really mean black males ??? Society learns how to treat every race of women based on the efforts the men make. This is not rocket science to any other group. Let’s stop blaming “society” when we know who teaches everyone that black women have no value.
We say “society.” To avoid saying black MEN. Society learns how to treat women based on how the men of the group treat their women.
Totally not true. Anyone who has studied American history knows this is not true. America had laws that treated women as inferior to men. Even Christianity has treated women as inferior to men. Society even gave black men the right to vote before white or black women were given the right to vote. The evidence is in the history books.
So right!
And yet white men create armies and laws to prosecute those that harm their women. What have black males created?
Fact
Europeans and other races have a history of ill treatment towards women. Unfortunately because most of our grooming has been done by European men it means we have taken on their worse characteristics.
Quiet please.….
Many of us don’t like to hear the truth. Why should you or anyone else try to silence me?
What truth was that?
Please Mara check out Breukelen Bleu on youtube.
You apologists kill me. You can never tackle an issue if You refuse to acknowledge it. Black men did not learn to mistreat bw from white men. That was going on before the white man came. White men might mistreat their women but they placed them above all others. A certain number of black men dream of everything that belongs to the white man including his woman, and everything non black men have because they feel it’s better than what they have. You know why? Because they feel others are superior to them, no matter how hard they deny it. When… Read more »
I don’t befriend nor date black men for this reason. They are full of hatred for themselves and their ethnicity. I wouldn’t dare let someone like that have access to my wit, womb, or wisdoms. Black men need to keep walking when I stroll through.
I knew the swirlers were going to be eat this post up LOL
You.act as if anything I.have typed is untrue.… please reply only if you have an actual statement or insight to offer.
Girl, I wish you eternal bliss with the white man of your dreams. Godspeed.
You cannot expect everyone to know what a Swirler is. You spend too much time on YouTube.
I’ve written off a lot of these men, sad to say. Their self-hatred is palpable. I can only hope that Black parents of the upcoming generation really explicitly tackle self-hate and misogynoir.
We need to continue to UPLIFTED each other. Because a few black men or men that DON’T agree, it does not matter. Haters will hate! Let’s focus on.WHAT we can do to.Help and UPLIFTED each other or move are energies to others who actual want and care for us.…we DON’T have to wait for fancy speeches, we should affirm ourselves daily…with or with a “man” or society.
They were/are embarrassed and ashamed that this bold, educated, & beautiful man took them to tasks for their shortcomings as it pertains to black women. I also find it quite interesting Mr Williams social/political views & incite; while being raised by a white mother/black father dynamic. We all know Mothers are the nurturers & teachers within the household. So for me this is very interesting. I’d love to know her background. With Jesse Williams in our corner who are paying any mind to those self hating koons. They can have a nation full of seats.
I dated a biracial man whilte living abroad. His mother was white and his father was African black. He had the mindset of Jesse Williams though. Pro black. But his parents were not militant or even activists. I mean, I don’t agree with blk men that your mother is responsible for everything you do as an adult simply be a use she had you. I don’t believe that. In fact I’ve only heard that from BM and no one else. Everyone is their own person (everyone except BM I guess ). Jesse Williams’s parents were activists & now I’m thinking… Read more »
This is ALL just silly. I will NEVER understand why black women continue to WILLINGLY stand by and support and uplift black men when they FLAT OUT REFUSE to even acknowledge you! Oh well. Not my problem. I guess I’m just truly lucky because I’ve ALWAYS been into white boys/men. Never had any problems with that, and black men were never on my radar. White men truly do ADORE us.
One thing I can say is that if BW keep supporting BM, the BM can never say that we never supported them as an excuse to belittle us. (This can also be my naivety/inexperience speaking as well since this method will have us looking stupid trying to be there for someone who isn’t here for us). But, I only support BM (and people in general) who aren’t ignorant, so the ignorant ones can go fall into a pit for all I care.
Please don’t waste your time sitting around worried about light skin/dark skin, uplifting black men, making them feel like “kings,” etc. This is what you should be doing…
You’re so funny . Hee hee
Yes, the irony of it all is thick, but let us not forget that our African American brothers are a reflection of American society. This is just a mirror being held up and the hypocrisy and self hate is blinding. We should have compassion but also not paint all brother with one stroke. After all in Africa, a lot of these stereotypes do not apply. The family unit is still intact for now. But we can see where things can go if we let them. I hope brothers are listening and looking within. Otherwise sisters you gotta expand your romantic… Read more »
And a whole lot of NON BLACK MEN TOO.
I’m African. I live in Africa. You would be surprised how much racial stereotypes also apply to us. With the rising middle class in Africa, a lot of successful black males “prefer” mixed (coloured/mulatto) women or white women. I once had a conversation with a successful, well educated black man and he told me he only dates white women, because they can relate to him. He is African by the way.
I bet he is the type that complains about racism and the white man’s actions in africa? The type that would lecture a bw in ir about colonialism?
I wish black women would leave those types alone and date who appreciate them regardless of color.
Those type of black men by and large don’t lead perfect lives with the women they put on a pedestal. Ignore them.
HP, the term “brother” is a term of endearment. Black men don’t act like someone to expect a Brother (in the true sense of the word) to act. They don’t protect us like brothers, they don’t care about us like brothers, they don’t talk about us like Brothers- they call us names daily and tear us down daily. Too many black women just refuse to see this and I don’t understand why. Why aren’t black women behaving the same, if this because of white supremacy? Our behavior should be identical then, but it’s not. That’s because blk men have chosen to… Read more »
This must be a male user. Why is it that black women are the ones who have to do all the uniting, marching, and praising of black men? Where are they? What are your instructions to the men? Stop putting all of the onus to uplift an entire race on its women, while the men are left obligation free to become fools. Stop it!
Jesse is Biracial. Black men are too cowardly to five a speech like that. Actually black man has fallen to the bottom years ago but is a solid fixture on the bottom of the barrel with Biracial men way over them in looks and accomplishment. Truth be told, Obama was Biracial & was president, not black men. Black men are so far at the bottom wild animals and even dogs get more respect.
I’m not surprised by anything BM do or say in regards to negativity toward us these days. The Black community has some very, very deep rooted issues that are going to keep being passed on from generation to generation. All I can do is keep my distance. I’m not dealing with any ratchetness or self-haters.
Maybe this has to do more with the fact that my father was a black opportunistic narcissist but I kind of think this is the mentality of a lot of black men. They only care when they are getting the praise. Why couldn’t they just be happy that Jesse had the courage to speak on these issues? I feel like Black women are more likely to see a successful black woman and be proud of her, feel a connection to her, and not in a vain or egotistic way, but in a sisterly way. These black men say:light skin, that’s… Read more »
Oh, dark skin men are crying out about colorism? Wow, that’s ironic. I don’t think blk women should listen to dark BM anymore because they are not even building anything for you or your children so they should NOT have an audience to listen to them. Plus dark BM are incredibly racist towards BW. You see how they talk about BW online? They’re nuts. Losers.
Precious, If you’ve noticed, black men are always the first people to tear down any and everything black women do, no matter what it is. If we get praise, they are the first to tear it down. We get degrees, this black man is the first to try to invalidate those degrees and try to claim that Asian women are the ones above us. We start businesses and BM totally ignore it. Black men are our worst and most dangerous enemy. He needs to be financially disabled by black women. Don’t give them your money anymore. If they need money… Read more »
Militant dark skin men exist, they just don’t have the platform that Jesse Williams has. Complexion shouldn’t even be an issue but I guess black people still can’t help themselves we just can’t seem to shake of the WM’s legacy.
Dark Skin men dominate the entertainment and Sports World. from ever since.Sidney, Billy Dee . Denzil, Don Cheadle , Morris Chestnut, . Wesley Snipes and the list goes on . So there are many darkskin men who have had even a bigger platform than Jesse What are they using it for ??? To shame and police BW.?? Taye Diggs, , Tyrese , Kevin Hart & Tank come to mind
The majority of BM whether light/dark skin you see in Hollywood (they are underrepresented in this field anyway) or the Sports World are not representative of ordinary BM. The problem is focusing on the negative as oppose to the positive. I’m not fans nor do I support any of those celebrities you have mentioned. Since they do not share my views I don’t any of them my energy.
I was merely refuting your insinuation that Jesse only has an advantage because he has a platform when in fact there are many black men with even bigger platforms than him who say and do nothing .It boils down to the person and what they are willing to stand for plain and simple
You need to re read my posts because I’m not insinuating that the dark skin men in the entertainment industry have less of a platform than Jesse. I believe that if you are in the public eye you should use your given platform to bring about awareness of the various issues out there, don’t matter who you are. Eddie Murphy felt the need to say something back in the 80’s in Hollywood at the Grammys about Black actors being underrepresented and I appreciated that. There are more Black men on the ground than in the industry saying what Jesse has… Read more »
Maralondon, EddiebMurphy said something in the 80’s. Right. Now how long ago was the 1980’s? Thirty years or so. There are too many black men in the public eye and in the media. I’d like to see fewer of them out there and even in life in general.
Maralondon, I don’t see BM as being underrepresented. I think at this point there are far too many of them with access to public platforms. There needs to be fewer blk men allowed the mic and the stage to speak. They are mostly just using platforms to destroy the blk race.
Aww! Boo how! Let me get the violens out everybody- the black man is telling his “struggle” story again and “the white man legacy”!
Really, we all see through this. We know black men are NOT being oppressed. We know. And it’s thanks to the internet. We see you BM making video after video trashing blk women online. Nobody is oppressing you at all. BM’s own actions showed this to black women.
Interesting to note that Jesse is an educated, successful man of African American descent, who is married to a black woman and praises black women. He is similar in this regard to Obama. What do they both have in common? Both were raised by white women.
You want to create a black man who holds unpleasant views about black women among other negatives? Let a black woman raise him.
Yawn. For every Obama and Jesse there are dozens of other biracial men who are raised by WW that are not particular successful in life or are not respectful towards BW. (prison Bae ) comes to mind especially when their fathers are self hating BM such as yourself that fill their head with all sort of negativity about blackness.
You are clearly one of those types that will pretty much twist any scenario to uplift WW whilst degrading BW…Begone !
I beg to differ. In my experience biracial men are WAY more respectful and much more kind and intelligent than the average dark black male. There is a reason for that . I don’t feel bad stereotyping dark black men since they don’t feel bad stereotyping me as a blk woman.
Nooooo negro.…it’s because pres. Obama and fine ass masculinity defined Jesse were not raised around Black males.…You negros influence each other to hate Black women because you are conquered males and want someone to blame,and you all are afraid of nonblack men.… so no matter what your mothers do or how they raised you all, you negroes influence each other.
Jesse was raised by a black father. You don’t know who he was around. If he was not around black men, he was also not around black women. Maybe the latter is why he didn’t end up being attracted to skanks.
You have issues. Yeah. A lot of you tired, ashy, online blk men have issues. You’re a very hateful pack of men and unfortunately ‚black women gave birth to you (which I WISH they hadn’t done), and now ALL black women are suffering and paying for it.
Rocky Road, you said she doesn’t“t know who Jesse was around, but neither do you! Stop acting like you do. You sick racist!
Their fathers were not present. 😉
LOT funniest post i’ve seen today
Rock Road, you are a white supremacist. Simple as that. Doesn’t matter if you are blk or white. You are incredibly racist.
Yes, I’ll find myself a white knight too.
Your comment made me lol
Wow. No. Black men and all men. Black women and all women. Humanity is a thing of beauty. We so busy singing about getting in formation we forgot to actually get in formation. I will never use my energy to tear down another person of color. It will be used to educate and uplift.
Just…nah. nah. Nah. Nawl.
Stop crying and start DOING. No one is going to feel sorry for you here. In fact, people are tired. Black men are are a fixture at the bottom and they love it there or they wouldn’t still be there decade after decade. This is reality and you can accept this reality or pretend black men are thriving.
Lol. No.
I agree with most of what is being said, a lot but not all of BM are an embarrassment, however interesting to see how quick a lot of BM are quick to join the swirl/light skin bandwagon. I wonder if Jesse provides further excuse/validation of that, and if so does that show that some women are just as bad as the men.
Remember, they’re are some pro black men about and I think it’s important/crucial that we foster a mutually supportive relationship with them.
ITA with your last statement.
Yes but why are you stating the obvious ?, it is pretty basic knowledge that a celebrity would be more likely to have a wider platform than the the ordinary man whether the issue is social injustice ‚global warming or save the whales etc
When Eddie Murphy spoke up in the 80’s were you also minimizing his voice by comparing his platform to the average man in the street ? I am sure No so why do it to Jesse.…Lemme guess
What the hell are you going on about, are you just trying to pick an argument with me? I’m not sure you’re reading my comments properly. I have nothing against anyone who is man enough to use their privilege to speak up on issues. I wrote that i appreciated Eddie Murphy for what he did and said, did you miss that point?
You’ve got it wrong Miss. Read my posts carefully because at no point did I minimise Jesse Williams or his speech. Sounds to me like you’re trying to pick an argument for arguments sake
You were the one trying to pick an argument. I thought you replied to her first in the beginning.
It’s quite clear that your education differs from mine. It is WW who had to fight for the right to vote beacuse their men overlooked their value. They still fight for equality within their societies because of exploitation in the work place etc.. The reason why WM place their women above everyone else is because they believe their race is the superior race. It is evident that this is how they feel.
What the hell are you talking about? I have never said europeans have the monopoly on all things desirable. Your reply does not make sense. No matter why europeans put their women above anyone else, the fact is they do. You tried to imply that black men took their cues on how to treat women from white men. Which is false. Collect your brain cells and try to process that. Your education and mine differ, that’s for sure. I don’t go around trying to put my head in the sand while blaming the way some black men treat black women on… Read more »
I definitely don’t have my head in the sand. You wrote that BM dream of having everything which WM have. I’m asking you what is it that WM have which you feel BM want so desperately? There’s a whole heap of reasons why we are in the mess were in and we can’t just by pass those things because it’s easier to lay blame. I know BW who have had abusive white partners in all manner of ways and BM and BW who are in healthy relationships with each other I just don’t understand this idea that WM are the… Read more »
I definitely do not have my head in the sand. You are the one who stated that BM want what WM have. What is that exactly?
WM put WW above everyone else because they believe they are superior to everyone else. What actually belongs to WM are you telling me they have a monopoly on all things desirable?
Why does telling truth about black males equate to getting a white man ? Sounds like projection. Want some of that white dack do ya?
Sounds like YOU are the one who wants a white man.
Yes.
This is the first time I actually listened to his speech. I tend to stay away from any public remarks about black women from black men because the remarks are almost always negative. It doesn’t surprise me that a biracial black man would be the one to use his platform to uplift and to support black women. This is man who is the product of a white mother and a black father. Oftentimes, biracial black children are exposed to more racism than blacks who had two black parents. I don’t think it’s a stretch at all to assume that he… Read more »
Everyone seems to be missing a major point: a boy will never become a man i.e. will never know how to behave like a M.A.N., without having a good male role model while growing up. Yet, the sad truth is that black men are mostly absent fathers. Mothers are left to raise their children alone, fending for several children alone. The biggest mistake make by black women is having children from different fathers. I get it: they’re desperately looking for love, for a life companion but seriously, stop tumbling into bed with every BM you meet, especially if he’s uneducated… Read more »
LOL! I knew it you, Breukelen, as soon as I read the word “ladies” at the end of your sentence.
Thanks. I’ll take some of that God speed as well, though my future man may be another race aside from white.
Stop the division.. What he said was for ALL of US PEOPLE.. Not just gender specific… Get out your emotions and strap your boots up.. We are @ WAR. Will Black men have to euthanize ‘n****s’ first before we move on to our real enemy? Or are ya’ll trying to wake the fuck up and get at THEM for a change? .. BLACK WOMEN.. lead in love.. OKay.. HE expressed love for you, now lead anyone who might show jealousy down the right path with love, instead of mocking them. Educate instead of instigate. We gonna be here talking about… Read more »
Cleo response was awesome…
The tweets came from “Kniggas of Ren”?? , and ” Broke & Ashy”? Anyone can get on Twitter and pretend to be a black man leaving Tweets so they can write a fake story about it. I don’t even like black men except for guys like Jesse, but come on now. Yeah some BM were upset but is it really worth writing a full story about?
It’s simply time for black women to move on ladies. Listen carefully to what the wise breuklen bleu has to say. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6HMMlkGD3CI
Yassssssssssss
[…] The fact is, although Jesse leaving his black wife for a white woman might be surprising given his seeming embrace of black feminism, it still fits the trend of “when (a black man) get on, he leave (a black woman’s) ass for […]