During and after the brilliant 2013 Black Girls Rock event on Sunday, Nov. 3, some White girls and Black men on Twitter formed a grotesque alliance to silence and shame Black women for celebrating ourselves.
For the fourth year in a row, BLACK GIRLS ROCK! founder and community activist Beverly Bond, joined with Black Entertainment Network (BET) to celebrate the awesome fierceness and the fearless audacity of Black girls and women around the world.
The show featured dynamic women like prima ballerina Misty Copeland, Chicago community organizer and violence interrupter Ameena Matthews, and Queen Latifah, in addition to dozens of celebrity presenters and performers.
Throughout the special, our best and brightest sheroes were honored while the always magnificent duo Regina King and Tracee Ellis Ross co-hosted two hours of sizzling, sassy performances that refueled us and reaffirmed that Black girls really do rock.
MUST READ: Black Girls STILL Rock! Founder Beverly Bond On The 4th Annual BET Award’s Show
Apparently, because we were not being recognized in conjunction with White women or for our (often unreciprocated) support of Black men, but boldly and unapologetically honored simply because we are and always have been rock stars, people were mad.
The racist and self-hating trolls couldn’t stand it — not even for two hours.
See some of the predictable Twitter dialogue below:
Exactly. RT @myrandafay: That #blackgirlsrock show is so racist. Where is the #whitegirlsrock show? Oh right, NAACP would be all over that.
— Stoned Stiletto (@DenimAndChard) November 4, 2013
I really do want to see a #WhiteGirlsRock lol. See if it becomes racist because white people do it.
— DYNAMO (@_Kosmiccc) November 4, 2013
If there were a #whitegirlsrock special on TV, it would be declared #racist. #politicallyincorrect #hypocrisy
— BP (@orangesoder) November 4, 2013
If they had an awards show that said #WhiteGirlsRock black ppl would call it racist.
— Stanley Aiken (@sa_aiken) November 4, 2013
They needa #WhiteGirlsRock
— #WestsideStoriezVol1 (@NewmanUMG) November 4, 2013
If they had a #WhiteGirlsRock would yall be mad
— SP IS MY OFFICE! (@BIGBABY_SP) November 4, 2013
It’s funny that if this hashtag was #WhiteGirlsRock instead of #BlackGirlsRock it would be considered RACIST.
— Red Stater (@DPRFOZ) November 4, 2013
The World Refuses To Apologize For Not Providing Thou With Attention For 0.1 Second RT”@CindyBeeCaters: Why can’t white girls rock too”
— المثيرة الفوضى (@RomanKush) November 4, 2013
“How come we don’t get a white history month?” “How come there aren’t any White Scholarships?” “Why isn’t there a white girls rock?” STFU
— Dee C. (@NaijaRoyale) November 4, 2013
The people claiming that Black Girls Rock is racist don’t want me to lecture them on the sordid history of White feminism. #blackgirlsrock
— Dwayne Rodgers (@DiggsWayne) November 4, 2013
Soon as white women show up at a runway show and ask ‘Why is this show totally white?’ I’ll pay attention to #whitegirlsrock
— dream hampton (@dreamhampton) November 4, 2013
mainstream media doesnt call it #WhiteGirlsRock because WHITE is considered STANDARD. only when ur OTHER do u get a #BlackGirlsRock dummies.
— whaddupdoe jackson (@yaaDetroitewaa) November 4, 2013
If you want #WhiteGirlsRock just check out the shows on CBS, NBC, ABC, MTV, FOX NEWS, Lifetime, HBO, Showtime, TNT, USA Networks…
— Black Canseco (@BlackCanseco) November 4, 2013
It’s a shame how many black dudes are protesting for a #WhiteGirlsRock platform. Do their capes for their snow bunnies ever come off?
— Paris (@_ToParisAndBack) November 4, 2013
It has been stated over and over again, many different ways, that White Girls Rock is the default in this country. Expanding privilege is not equality. And it is pathetic, though not surprising, that some Black men showed up and showed out for all the wrong reasons, and some White women wouldn’t understand solidarity even if it was spelled out on the Soul Train board.
Mara Brock Akil stated so eloquently last night: “Black women, even if no one else sees you, I see you…We are worth protecting and we are worth loving.”
Though many attempts are made, nothing and no one can change that fact.