Obligation

Black men have it hard in America. 

And by and large, Black women have felt an obligation to show up, love, and support them. Is it too much to ask that they show up for us?

That’s the topic we’re taking on this week with writer and cultural critic Jamilah Lemieux. She recently wrote a piece for Vanity Fair where she coined the term “the Black Ass Lie,” pointing out the harm that comes from the ongoing narrative that straight Black men have it the worst in our society. She believes this lie is to the detriment of Black women, queer and trans people.

In this raw and unfiltered conversation, Jamilah unpacks the layers of obligation Black women have to Black men with writer and professor Kiese Laymon. We explore the use of the b-word used to rhetorically destroy Black women — and what holding Black cishet men accountable actually looks like.

2022 WEBBY WINNER: BEST ADVICE PODCAST 

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