Lena Horne to Nikki Giovanni Lena Horne “ I didn’t have the strength to be with a black man”.

[personaguy]

Tell us why this bedwench should be celebrated then. Save your disdain, because we dont give a fukk.

I'm reacting to the people who are celebrating this wench with the " I understand what this sister is saying" bullshyt

 

[HarlemHottie]

I get it. It's disgusting and cowardly, but i get it. I also 'get' modern swirlers and pawgers. Still disgusting and cowardly tho.

 

[Biscayne]

Nope and you will see why soon enough.

"She's a bed wench blah blah"

People back then spoke their mind and even if others didn't agree they listened not faked outrage. People have forgotten how to listen to things they don't agree with and are more concerned with being upset rather than understanding

I can have empathy for those women, given the times they were in. White men had a stranglehold over their respective industries and it was probably just easier on them to date and marry out. But you gotta know, BW won't have that same empathy for BM in these situations.

yes

Well...
Nothing new under the sun. Is that article from Jet?

 

[Dynamite James]

I remember when this meme was going around a few yrs back

All em had a white husbands

Then further research that a good number of the Black Entertainment Industry from that era was in a interracial relationships/marriage..

Pearl Bailey
Diana Sands
Lorraine Hansberry
Nina Simone
Donyale Luna
Helen Williams
Naomi Sims
Hazel Scott
Eartha Kitt
Josephine Baker
Marpessa Dawn

I'm going to assume they shared the same reason as Lena

But But But Black men!
But But But Michael B Jordan!

 

[Counter Racist Male]

I can have empathy for those women, given the times they were in. White men had a stranglehold over their respective industries and it was probably just easier on them to date and marry out. But you gotta know, BW won't have that same empathy for BM in these situations.



Well...
Nothing new under the sun. Is that article from Jet?

you guys do realize that slumming is always been big right?

interracial marriage which is illegal binding contract between white black people is fairly new but whites and blacks have always had a level of sexual contact.

 

[keond]

I read a book on the boxer Joe Louis some years back and it said that he was fukking Lena Horne for years while he was still married.

She was beautiful but unfortunately she was a pass around that had a rep for sleeping with famous married men.

 

[Biscayne]

As a young black man, I think a lot of younger black women resent black men for similar reasons. Being with a black man can be difficult and is a constant reminder of the hardships that exist within black life. A lot of younger “sisters” want to avoid this now

Black women like all women want life to be peaceful. Generally speaking, women don’t want to struggle. They don’t want to suffer (to be fair, no one does) and they will find men who can give them what they need. Black unity is a mythology and has been for a while imho.

I’m not surprised or mad, just disappointed honestly lol. Live your life brehs and stop betting on the so-called loyalty of your people to save you.

I'm learning this daily.

Everybody know that I’m an avid defender of people of Lena Horne’s ilk, and as much as I don’t want to, I agree with this.

Lena was raised in an old school way where you communicate even the most distasteful of things in a way that was presented in a patina of genteel refinement. It was certainly an art and Lena masterfully delivered that she wanted to indulge in a form of “passing” by marrying a white man in the most self-effacing way possible.

And it was masterful because she brought attention to herself (I’m not good enough for black men) without bringing attention to herself (I’m after mainstream stardom and my best shot is with a white man), while simultaneously not putting down black man.

I’m conflicted because the way in which she didn’t put down black men shows her true love for blackness but she still made the decision to go after whiteness in the end.

Just shows the strange mental space, maybe double-consciousness, blacks were in at the time.

Times were tough for women like Lena Horne. She's a legend. The double consciousness aspect of it, is something I'd like to dive deeper into.

 

[invalid]

I read a book on the boxer Joe Louis some years back and it said that he was fukking Lena Horne for years while he was still married.

She was beautiful but unfortunately she was a pass around that had a rep for sleeping with famous married men.

Most of the black female entertainers were like this. Which made their stories tragic. Dandridge, Kitt, etc. They were looking for long-term love and acceptance from white men who saw them as nothing more than objects to fulfill their sexual desires. They would realize this very late, and would end up hopping from one white man to the next in search of love, only to be broken again.

Which is why it’s sad to watch Hallie Berry because she is their contemporary archetype and is going to end up just like them all, dead, chasing love from those that won’t reciprocate.

 

[Dynamite James]

So Is this the mentality of most swirlers?

 

[Guile]

A lot of folks can learn from her on how to step out without belittling the race.

 

[Easy-E]

yes

Black Twitter...

 

[Astroslik]

I’m not surprised by this.

I’m been telling you brothers. shyt that’s happening within our community ain’t new.

shyt ain’t being strong enough to love a black man. shyt is about being able to have white womanhood. Black men can’t give them that. Only white men.

This is why a lot of them inherently have deep hatred and envy towards white women. A lot of underlying subconscious reasons for this.

 

[ISO]

Can’t take it out on just females. Men in these days were pawging heavy. A white woman was a prize to many black men. That shyt was serious.

 

[GreenGhxst]

It's true

To a lesser extent now

 

[Problematic Pat]

lol outstanding post and let's add i rise maya angelou and noted black feminist florynce kennedy. sistas will NEVER discuss this while touting their historical loyalty to black men when complaining about nikkas hopping the fence

also ain't it funny how black womanist alice walker married melvyn r. levanthal while celie married the hyper-abusive mister albert?

Let's not forget about feminist super hero Angela Davis.