Conclusion:
Black & Beautiful

Are We Angry Black Women?

By Rosaland Tyler
Associate Editor
New Journal and Guide

      When national televangelist Juanita Bynum was recently beaten and bruised by her husband outside an Atlanta hotel, Essence and Ebony writer, the Rev. Dr. Renita Weems asked in her blog—what would happen if black women would boycott the church, “in response to the (church’s) lack of response?”
      “Presumptuous,” said the Rev. Dr. Geoffrey Gunns, who has pastored Norfolk’s Second Calvary Baptist for nearly a quarter of a century. “I think it is presumptuous because it is as if she (Weems) is saying she has listened to every pastor in this country. The church has been at the forefront of offering hope, encouragement, and support to women.”
      True, all of the above have long been offered to black women who have long been the backbone of the black church.
         But census data suggests that many black women, (apparently including Bynum), have often left church to return home to ugly realities. Twice as likely as white women to live below the poverty line, black women who are 42 percent less likely to marry, are also more likely to tithe and volunteer in the black church. Yet, black women are also punched, slapped, kicked, or manipulated every nine seconds by men they know, according to the National Black Women’s Health Project.

      

      All of this sometimes adds up to anger that is “boiling just below the surface,” according to Why Black Women Are Angry Blogspot.com.
“Besides issues of domestic violence and sexual abuse, churches are faced with...child abuse and sexual molestation of children; brainwashing and mind control all in the name of the Lord; rampant fornication and sexual harassment, the impregnation by ministers and pastors—married and unmarried—of young women who have put their trust in the men of God”; plus embezzlement and mismanagement.
      The point is that many black women can justify simmering anger by pointing to a long list of issues. But, anger is only an inborn emotion that is similar to hunger or thirst, according to psychologists. So what happens next, (the next response in other words), is up to each individual woman.
     “Often the person you’re mad at doesn’t even know you’re angry,” said the Rev. Christ Mitchell, Jr., co pastor of Kingdom World Outreach Center in Virginia Beach.

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