Megan Thee Stallion Deserves a World That Protects Black Women

Like many Black women before her, she suffered in silence to protect others while remaining unprotected herself

Shanita Hubbard
ZORA

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Megan Thee Stallion onstage in front of a crowd.
Photo: Johnny Nunez/WireImage/Getty Images

Growing up I spent a lot of my formative years imagining a concept of freedom through the eyes (and music) of cisgender heterosexual Black men. I spent most of 1996–2000 rocking out to Nas’ song, “If I Ruled the World,” in which the rapper dreamed of a version of freedom where men were released from prisons, cars and raw sex were plentiful, and women like Coretta Scott King could rule cities.

This concept of freedom that Nas dreamed of in the ’90s may seem like a utopia to him, but it echoes some of the real-world problems Black women currently deal with — there is no protection or pleasure for us, only options to serve. A world without protection of Black women is not freedom. But what does a world that protects Black women even look like? And, most importantly, who do Black women need protection from?

A world without protection of Black women is not freedom.

This harsh reality hit close to home earlier this week when, on August 20, instead of celebrating the record-breaking release and success of “WAP” and her many other accolades, Houston…

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