A Lot of Movements Need Black Women. But Do They Value Us?

….to gain some reciprocity

Lauryn Hill/X Factor

Accept the person you are.

We see it every time there’s a crisis.
Every time someone needs a turnout.
Every time a campaign, a cause, a movement needs strength, strategy, or soul.

They call Black women.
To show up.
To organize.
To pray.
To vote.
To fix what’s broken.
To bring the fire.
To bring the forgiveness.
To save the day.

But here’s the question:
Do they value Black women?
Or do they just use Black women?

Because it’s one thing to need our brilliance.
It’s another to respect our boundaries.

It’s one thing to post a quote or a hashtag.
It’s another to create real space for our voices, our safety, our leadership.

It’s one thing to spotlight us when it’s convenient.
It’s another to stand beside us when it costs you something.

Movements can’t keep asking for our labor while disrespecting our lives.
They can’t demand our magic but dismiss our trauma.
They can’t celebrate our turnout and ignore our burnout.

We are not tools.
We are not trendsetters to be imitated.
We are not here to be “strong” so others can be comfortable.

We are the foundation.
We are the vision.
We are the moral compass.

So this is the call:
If you say you need Black women—prove it.
With policy.
With pay.
With protection.
With power-sharing.
With deep, actual respect.

Until then?
We reserve the right to ask:
Is this movement worthy of us?

✨ 7 Affirmations for Black Women Who Are Done Being Used & Ready to Be Valued

1. My value is not defined by how much I give—especially to people who refuse to give back.
   I deserve reciprocal love, energy, and respect.

2. I am not here to carry entire movements on my back while being silenced at the table.
   I am not your mule. (Zora Neale Hurston)

3. It is not betrayal to walk away from spaces that drain me.
   My boundaries are not only valid—they are sacred.

4. I choose to protect my peace, my power, and my purpose.
   Not everyone is entitled to my labor or my loyalty.

5. I will no longer confuse being needed with being valued.
   I require evidence of both.

6. I am allowed to rest. I am allowed to be served. I am allowed to be the one protected.
   Being “strong” is not my only role.

7. I am the standard—not the sidekick, not the scapegoat, not the savior.
   If a space is not honoring that, I have every right to leave.