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Emmit, Tom, Tavis, Master P and others tell why they love Black Women
Ebony, Feb, 2003
Soul.
Spirit.
Sass.
And a unique, unparalleled, incomparable synthesis of strength and beauty. These and other words, none of them adequate, have been used to describe Black women who have defined and redefined femininity, and who are still climbing, giving off sparks and love and fire.
And although we blow it from time to time, although we forget it, although we look here and there and yonder and posture and rap and talk bad and don't say it often enough and loud enough, we know they're IT.
Here, then, is a Valentine, late as usual, to Sisters from 18 Brothers whose eyes have seen the glory and the fire, and who KNOW.
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EMMIT SMITH, Dallas Cowboys "My wife is a Black woman and it just feels comfortable. She understands my challenges and my struggles because she is Black. She is right for me because she has a level head and a kind and gentle heart. She just understands what I go through on a daily basis. She understands my goals, our goals. And it is not about what I do, it is about what we can do together, and how we can help each other grow."
ATTORNEY JOHNNIE COCHRAN "I love Black women because they are tender yet tough, beautiful yet bold, and they possess character charisma and attitude. Succinctly stated, they are God's special human beings who have literally held the Black family together, across the years, during good limes and bad."
MASTER P, rapper and businessman "I think Black women are beautiful. I think they are colorful like flowers. I think they are sensitive, and also have a sweet, sexy side to them. Black women are truly as delicate as butterflies."
TOM JOYNER, radio personality "It's easy and natural for me to love Black women. The first women I ever loved were Black--my mother, my aunts, even my grade-school teachers. I love Black women because they're beautiful with emphasis on full. Whether it's the tidiness of their figures, their lips, their hugs or their laughter, it's always drawn me to them.
"One Black woman in particular, my wife Donna, has brought fullness to my life. Her strength, her beauty, her independence, her "attitude" and her compassion are qualities that make her and other Black women the special jewels that they are. Whether they're working their jobs, working their necks or just working a Brother, there's nothing more beautiful to me."
TAVIS SMILEY, author of Keeping The Faith "If I were ever stranded on a desert island and there were three things that I could ask for, the first thing would be a Black woman. Can a Brother get a Sister? Everything else is negotiable, but the first thing I need is a Sister. I value their intellect, their contributions, their ideas and their vision. The reason why I have Black women running every division of my company is because I value them. I often say, `You need some Sisters in the situation.' As Brothers, we have to value Black women more than we do because they have been there for us since day one. Too many of us take Black women for granted, but we must value them. It all begins with value ... If there were no Black women in my life, I would not want to live. I couldn't live."
MICHAEL ERIC DYSON, author of Why I Love Black Women "I love the incredibly powerful combination of style, substance and spirit that marks Black women. The way they move through the world with such grace and dignity and power and determination makes them uniquely qualified to embody the best virtues of womanhood. Brothers have to recognize that the very qualities that they disparage Black women for: strength, power. determination, that `take-charge-attitude,' are the very things that have helped the race to survive. So, if we can acknowledge their power and strength, then we can tap into that and not make them hostile to us, but partners along with us, in the creation of our future."
LARENZ TATE, co-star of Biker Boyz and A Man Apart
"I love Black women who are independent, who have inner-strength, who have a spiritual base and a solid foundation of who they are. There are so many things that Sisters have gone through, but through it all, they have survived in a real way, and they remain strong. No matter what, you can count on a Sister. When you're with a Sister, the communication is there. There are so many things that you don't have to Explain. There are certain things that Black folks just Know. It's an unspoken communication that you Already have."
DMX rap artist, author, E.A.R.L., actor and owner of Bloodline Films. In 1999, he married sweetheart Tashera Simmons.
"I love Black women because they come from the richest soil, the Motherland--Africa. I love Black women because they birth beautiful Black babies."
OMAR TYREE, author of Leslie "My wife's a Black woman who has been in my corner for nine trying years now. She's been there through all of my bright ideas, and Through all of my hard-headed stress. Then I think of the push from my strong-willed mother, the spoiled love from my grandmothers, the pride of my aunts, and the thousands of Sisters who continue to support my work each and every year. And when you add all of that up, I'd have to be insane not to love Black women on Valentine's Day or on any other of the 363 and a quarter days a year."
