Creating Understanding

Although Black women make up 7% of the U.S population, there is little understanding about their psychology and the complexities of their lives (Jones & Shorter-Gooden, 2003). In contrast, Millennials account for 50 million of the U.S. population (Davis, 2010). That’s roughly 16%, twice as much as the percentage of Black women who make up the U.S. population. Accepting racism and sexism as problems in the United States (Parker-Terhune, 2005), this study adds ageism to the list of isms that shape perceptions of how Black Millennial Women live in the world. The psychological, emotional (Parker-Terhune, 2005) and now conflicting chaos these oppressions weigh on Black Millennial Women make up the health, mind, spirit and esteem of this group. Jones and Shorter-Gooden suggest that Black women engage in coping strategies to maintain themselves (2003); however, I maintain that these strategies (masking, coping and role-playing) lead to the inauthentic makeup of this group. Where Black Women in White America documents the history of Black women so we can begin understanding their narrative (Lerner, 1986), Shifting continues the conversation by documenting the “Double Lives of Black Women in America (Jones & Shorter-Gooden, 2003). This study will continue the existing conversation while adding ageism to this conversation. Although there is work contributing to the make-up of Black women, the need for further study of this group becomes more urgent as time progresses due to the limited existing studies. Additionally, Black women are being tagged with other oppressive characteristics like Millennialism, adding more pressure to the group and furthering the need to understand all components of these women.

Source:
Jackson, Jenny (2010). Black Millennial Women in Leadership. Queens University of Charlotte: Charlotte, NC.
 
References:
Davis, Bonnie (2010). “Minority Millennials are more pro-government, pro-family than peers.”

Jones, Charrisse and Kumea Shorter-Gooden, Ph. D. (2003). Shifting: Based on the African American Women’s Voices Project. Harper Collins Publishers: New York.

Lerner, Gerda (1972). Black Women in White America. Vintage Books: A Division of Random House, Inc.: New York.

Parker Walsh Terhune, C. (2005). Biculturalism, code-switching, and shifting: the experiences of