I am actually talking about respect and calling out Donald Trump’s disrespect of journalist Rachel Scott, and I am also hoping to prick the conscience of Black women, tearing down Mayor Rachel Proctor. This is the deal. I’ve always said that Black women have been disrespected so much that we jump to the front of the line to disrespect one another. I bring this up because there’s a large group of women who, if they don’t get their stuff together, are going to turn Dallas redder than a Strawberry or Cherry Now or Later!
I don’t want to see anybody disrespecting anybody, but what I have seen is people hiding behind a keyboard or the title of President to say anything, and it makes me want to invite them to Chancellor Avenue in Newark, New Jersey, in the 1960s. IYKYK! Now, when I came to Dallas, Texas, I didn’t know about DeSoto, Texas, but I met folks who were proud of, or should I say also “concerned” about their City.
DeSoto Mayor Rachel Proctor is constantly evolving, and, sadly, she doesn’t have many in the Village doing what they’re supposed to do because, rather than giving guidance, they offer lip service and backstabbing commentary. They don’t realize we all benefit from her success. That actually gave me flashbacks. So, as I take you back about 35 years, look at my picture and think about what I must’ve looked like back then.
I was in a large room with more than 1,000 people, getting ready to take the stage as the emcee. Two Black women came up to me, and one of them said, “You’ve put on some weight.” I didn’t say anything. The other woman cosigned, saying, “Yeah, look at your arms; I’ve never seen you this big before!” I made a polite exit and went into the ladies’ room. I’m standing in the mirror, talking to myself in my head.
I said, “You don’t know what those women are going through, and just think, they have to get up every day and look at themselves, and if what they look at doesn’t make them want to celebrate every Black woman, something is wrong with them.” Disrespect is unacceptable, even if someone is disrespectful to you. If they spit at you, are you going to spit back? Rachel Proctor is young, smart, gifted, and deserves the opportunity to enjoy the best life she can while she’s on this earth.
Spiritually balanced, she has chosen to serve the people. Help her, don’t hurt her, or contribute to her demise. I am sure she has some haters out there because every time I see her, she looks great. She would have given me a run for my money, but I would have celebrated her beauty because what she had didn’t take away from me! She’s a Black woman going into rooms some of her critics couldn’t, but she’s going in head held high and transacting business.
Now, if by chance you can do the same, reach out to her and do the sisterly/womanly/right thing! Now, some of you are going to say, well, she’s not like our last one. Guess what? Some of you unhappy, unhealthy people dogged out the last female, so when do you stop? You want to get on Black men about only dating white women.
You want to talk about white men who want to control your uterus, but then here you are, not uplifting; instead, you are tearing down. I can’t even begin to count the number of mistakes I’ve made over my lifetime. And for that reason alone, when I see somebody like a Mayor Rachel Proctor or, before her, Mayor Curtistene McCowan, or the Honorable Jasmine Crockett or, before her, Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson; or the Honorable Diane Ragsdale, Trustee Tonya Derrick, or I could name the countless women who have held public office and had to put up with folks giving criticism but no praise.
And that criticism is coming from folks who will criticize your hair as if they have never had a bad hair day, or tell you to smile when they act as if they have never had menstrual cramps or a girdle cutting off their circulation.
And you can tell something is wrong: we’re in a crisis, facing so many assaults on so many fronts that we don’t see the need to come together. Dallas City Manager Kim Bizor Tolbert is also an example.
If these super critics (I won’t call them by the name the street committee calls them) could see the writing on the wall, they would see that sometimes they are being manipulated. I wish everyone would take one day and write down every negative thing they say or do.
Read it three times, visit a therapist, and go to a mirror; say five positive things about yourself. It might take you a while, and that’s something you have to deal with. We need to stop being so negative. Sometimes the criticism isn’t about the subject; it really says a lot about the critic! Give Mayor Proctor some respect! And respect yourself!
