(ThySistas.com) As a black woman in America, I am very aware of the labels placed on me. We are given some of the worst stereotypes and they have become damaging to our self-esteem. One of the things we are called the most by black men and white people alike is angry. The term “angry black woman” is something that people who don’t understand us like to throw our way. Well, the truth is, yes, we are angry black women and we are putting that energy into making our worlds a better place through our actions.
Shouldn’t we be angry about the things that affect our lives and our families on a daily basis? I mean women don’t get paid as much as men, which for black women is even more of an issue. Our brothers, husbands and sons are gunned down in the streets with video to prove that they were murdered and we still see no justice. And race relations are so messed up right now that our quality of life is 
suffering. Furthermore, we have to prove ourselves, even though we are the most educated group of people alive right now, just so we can compete with non-women of color who are mediocre at best. Who wouldn’t be angry about these things?
At one point, I will admit that from my view, I didn’t care that people looked at black women as angry. We have suffered so much that folks calling us “angry” is the least of our worries. But then we started looking at the situation and changing our perspective. We stopped explaining why we aren’t angry and began embracing all the ways that we can put that anger, disappointment, hurt, and hopelessness into positive action that help propel the entire black community forward. That’s what I see when I look at black women. That’s what I see when I think of our anger.
Many times it takes great emotion to bring great change. We have seen it time and time again throughout history. Today we have women like Ava DuVernay and her movies/documentaries that are peeks into black lives. Janice Bryant Howard’s staffing company, the largest in the country owned by a woman of color, helps take away the stigma that black people are lazy by providing them with jobs (has been since the 1970’s). And do I even need to make a case for Oprah? These are just three examples of the plethora of women turning the “angry” stigma on its head.
We have the power to react to situations anyway we see fit, but why not dismantle a negative thing by creating something positive? I believe, because I see it for myself, that black women are doing that. We want strong, safe, successful families and we are taking everything that’s brought against us and trying to make something good. My anger will not control me. It will direct me into a greater path of peace and victory.
Being angry is not a bad thing. It all comes down to how you use that energy. For me and countless other black women, we have chosen to put it into building legacies that change our worlds.
Staff Writer; Rasheda Abdullah