Skip to main content

(Wo)MAN UP!



It’s time black girls mimicked their mothers. Time to put your worries aside. Put your babies on your back and get to work. This shit is waiting on you! Your life is waiting for you! Your household is waiting on you! Lets be very clear its about no one else but you. I tweeted this on the 8th of January 2018. I need black women all around me and even online to get up and GO! 

This year I have decided to dedicate myself to restoring myself and taking care of what I have to take care of. I am not pushing myself into spaces that don’t need me. I am not interested in going to people who do not need me or vice versa. I have listened to a lot of empowering talks to get my head into this specific head space of working, but not just working, but excelling at what I am meant to be taking care of. '

In my intro I called out black women because we have been conditioned by our leaders for a very long time to think that we need to wait on the government to support and validate who we are in society. They knew we needed shelter so they made it so. They built black people pathetic little homes(RDP houses) and called that ownership. They then said we could own child bearing as well and now we see long lines of young and old mothers collecting child support from the government.  They know that the revolution of the ANC was driven by one fierce woman, Winnie Madikizela Mandela. We also saw other stalwarts like Adelaide Tambo, Albertine Sisulu, Charlotte Maxeke, Dorothy Nyembe to name a few.  The food was on the table and clocking in at the jobs was done, however after hours, they formulated and supported the revolt. Today we stand tall in our democratic republic. But whilst the ANC has done what it has, it was also up to us to do better than the previous generation.

Whilst other races are ahead, in most cases we are behind. The best we can do now is to take up a different struggle. The struggle of how do I revolutionise my own space and who do I bring with me whilst I climb up. I do a lot of interacting in a day. I sit up when a black woman is speaking. Not because of anything, but just to find out where are we as a nation of women? How advanced are we in our thinking and if we are working with our men (even though most of the time they refuse to work with us) or are we not? And how much of this work are we doing out of our own initiatives? We are inspired by the Basetsanae Kumalo and Khanyi Dhlomo’s of this world, but how much are we really doing to be learned like them? In the industries and spaces we are in, are we applauding those around us, if not why not? Are we collecting as much information to get to the next big thing we want to achieve. Plenty questions but you are the only one who can answer them. Just spend time writing these down and you will soon find the territory that is yours and start building from there. Enjoy it and all the best to you and your goals. 

Follow Socially Savant on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. 

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

The bond that liberates

There are relationships that will always remain close and dear to your heart. These are such trusted and loving relationships. I’ve always remained teachable in relationships I find myself in. I find the soul being elevated in the sight of authentic and realistic relationships. Where there is little to no reservation, bearing in mind I’m speaking about real relationships, not the kind where you  just kickin it . I’ve dated two men who have seen me as not just a woman in their lives but also a sister. Now we generally use these terms so loosely however as Africans we are relatively still in tune to our real African roots. We still look into the soulful spaces of the relationship we are in, it's how we excel in respect. I notice that resonating often in our lives. But I digress. The validation of the sister/ brotherhood in a relationship is almost as befitting as a gold star rating in your role as that person’s partner. Let me explain. When one can honestly feel at home in...

It wouldn't be the first time

I fussed and struggled to get to my inner strength. I started very slowly to remove myself from people and the regular things I was doing in my everyday life. I started to remove myself from the responsibilities in my church life and family life. Dating was a hard no. Trying to even look pretty within my skin and body was a difficult task to achieve. I decided to focus on me. It wouldn’t be the first time, I did such.  “It wouldn’t be the first time” was the last thing my pastor said to me when I lay in the hospital bleeding out. He said this after I told him it’s after visiting hours and he was going to get in trouble if he didn’t leave. He fist pumped me and looked straight into my eyes and said, “It wouldn’t be the first time”. I garnered so much strength from just those few words to remember that I’m a force. I’m powerful. That I am so much more and mostly so intelligent to just let myself slip out of life this way. This was not the bang I was looking for. I had 6 h...

Speak to God

  Spiritual work and a spiritual life are unspoken and unnoticed daily activities known to man. You might say to me - but that's obvious. But because of the space we find ourselves in, other things take precedence over our spiritual time. We find people priding themselves in the work ethic and how much they have built, good as that is one can neglect the spiritual growth needed to enjoy the finer things in life. In order to have a fulfilled life your spirit has to be a happy one. A person on their deathbed will always express the importance of enjoying life, they hardly mention the need for money and assets as they slip onto the other side. People may even say spiritual activities are designated for certain people. However, connections with God are not always smooth sailing. This is because there are multiple ways that your spirit might connect with God. Questions I have for you are, are you aware of how to connect with God? Do you know that there might be several ways that ...