...that one day "Mammy" would sneak into "Massa's" gun room, grab a shotgun and blow away the myth that sturdy (not fat) Black women were mules of the world. Then, she'd pick up her skirt and get free!

Simply put Black women were once seen as animals much like mules or cattle. Slave owners auctioned off the female slaves that looked sturdy and could endure long days of toting cotton in the hot sun or females with big breasts and body parts to nurse and nurture all the babies on the plantation (no, Massa, my tits ain't made for all ya'll).

Did anyone ever see the documentary "Ethnic Notions" back in the late '80's? It was narrated by Esther Rolle (not by coincidence) and focused on the images of Black people in the Americas in the 19th and 20th century. Mammies, uncles, pickaninnies, minstrels, etc. It was really an eye-opener for me.

So here we are in the 21st century, as Black women, and we can't get free, let go of "Mammy". From Harriet Tubman and Sojourner Truth to Oprah Winfrey and Toni Morrison, we have real examples of big, sturdy women who defied the stereotypes. Yet, here we are stuck in this self-destructive cycle.

Let it go!

"Know thyself"

"Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, "I will never leave you or forsake you". So we may boldly say, "The Lord is my helper, I will not fear. What can man do to me?"
-- Hebrews 13:5,6

"There is a difference between knowing the path and walking the path"
--Morpheus in "The Matrix"

"It's our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities"- Dumbledore to Harry Potter "Chamber of Secrets"

<--- Blame this lady for Nutty.