Little Mental Sky is the namesake of Martin Luther King Jr.’s prolific writing, “Letter from a Birmingham Jail.” Behind locked bars, which alone serves as a kind of metaphor for mental health in the Black community, Dr. King wrote of the injustices he faced while fighting for equality.
However, reading his letter struck a nerve with me in a different way. “See tears welling up in her eyes. . .” writes Dr. King, “And ominous clouds of inferiority beginning to form in her little mental sky, and see her beginning to distort her personality. . .”
So this had me thinking, how many black women have experienced this exact moment in their own lives? Many black women are reminded, time and time again, of the standards being enforced upon them by a society that underestimates their value. Often, we as black women, turn this resentment inward and don’t even realize why.
Black women from all walks of life feel isolated at their jobs, their homes, and at their schools. Because most times, our everyday environments don’t allow for us to feel vulnerable.
So let’s seek clarity and find our voices. If not for ourselves, then do it for the next generation of young black women who will be handed the torch.
To all black women who have the audacity to take up space in a world that makes you feel like you don’t belong, my hope is that this blog empowers you to be your best self and to embrace who you are to the fullest.