Pov Black Mom At The Store

Cynthia May

2 min read

·

19-01-2025

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It's a Tuesday afternoon. The fluorescent lights hum a familiar, slightly irritating tune above me as I navigate the aisles of the local supermarket. My cart, already overflowing with groceries, bumps gently against my knee. This is my routine, my weekly ritual. But today, it feels…different.

The Microaggressions, Big and Small

The subtle glances follow me. The overly cautious placement of items on the shelves as I approach. The hesitant, almost apologetic, “Excuse me, ma’am,” when someone accidentally brushes past me. These are the microaggressions, the small, often unintentional acts of prejudice that add up over time. They're not always overt, but they’re a constant, a low-level hum beneath the surface of my shopping experience.

They don't always sting, but sometimes they do. Sometimes, the cumulative weight of these small interactions feels heavy, like a lead apron under my already-full shopping cart. It makes me question whether it's my imagination, or if there's a real, underlying current of discomfort aimed at me, a Black woman, simply trying to buy groceries.

Beyond the Aisle: A Shared Experience

This isn't just my experience. It's the experience of countless Black mothers across the country. We've all been there, navigating the unspoken tension, the subtle biases, the constant vigilance required to ensure our safety and the safety of our children while just trying to complete a mundane task.

The frustration isn't just about the individual instances of prejudice. It's about the systemic issues they represent, the deeper societal inequalities that shape these interactions. It’s about the exhausting mental labor of anticipating and managing these situations, a labor that many white shoppers don't have to consider.

Finding Strength in Community

Yet, despite these challenges, there's a resilience, a strength that emerges from this shared experience. We talk about it, we support each other, we create community. This shared experience builds bonds, fostering solidarity among us and providing a much-needed counterpoint to the negativity.

We find strength in our shared stories, in our shared resilience, and in our shared commitment to navigating these spaces with grace, strength, and unwavering dignity. Because ultimately, the weekly grocery shop shouldn't be a battleground. It should be a simple, everyday act, free from unwarranted scrutiny and bias. That's the future we’re striving for, one grocery trip at a time.