|
I have spoken in parliament, in committee meetings, and advocated for human rights in front of people. But I have learned that the hardest part is often not the speech itself. It is everything that happens before my first word. By the time I reach the microphone, the space I am in has already decided things about me. My accent, before they have heard it. My competence, before I have demonstrated it. The points I will make, and whether I belong there at all. Assumptions arrive before my voice is heard, and I spend the first few minutes of every intervention working to undo them.
There is a particular weight that comes with this. Women are already expected to be perfect, to be twice as prepared, to never give anyone a reason to doubt them. But for Black women, that expectation doubles again. We are not allowed an off day, a moment of being merely good rather than exceptional. Perfection is the baseline we are required to meet just to be taken as seriously as the average man in the room. And the stakes of falling short are too high. When a Black woman makes a mistake, it is rarely allowed to stay hers. It becomes proof. It gets folded into every pre-judgment about all Black women, used to confirm what some people already decided before you arrived.
You are not just representing yourself. You are carrying the weight of being read as evidence of the entire race. The frustrating part is that doing the work well is often not enough. A friend of mine, a sharp lawyer at a good firm, was doing genuinely excellent work. Competent, social, and respected by her colleagues. Then she was called into HR; not for her performance, which was strong, but because she was not smiling enough. In a law firm, of all places, where you would expect the quality of the work to speak first, the stereotype spoke louder. A Black woman who is focused and serious is read as cold. The same demeanour in a man would be read as professional. |
The content of terrampacis.org domain is controlled and managed by TERRAM PACIS based at Edvard Storms gate 2, 0166 Oslo. We value your privacy and the privacy of the information we collect from you when using our websites.
This privacy notice was updated on 10.02.2026. Therefore, if you decide to use our websites and the provided services, it implies that you agreed with this privacy notice. Otherwise, please do not use our websites and the provided services.
When we make new amendments to this privacy notice, the amended notice is posted hereon. Therefore, the continued use of our websites and provided services, implies that you agreed with the new amendments.
We particularly collect information from and about you when you: make a donation, register an account or register as a partner, and when you subscribe to our newsletter. To delete your own data, please go to Delete my account or unsubscribe from our newsletter.
We use cookies on this website. It is a piece of data stored on your hard drive to help us improve your access and your use of our websites' services. If you do not accept this, please do not use our websites and the provided services.
We use reasonable and up to date security methods to protect all the data we collect from you and held by us. However, on the Internet, we cannot guarantee information's absolute security.
Where reasonable we challenge any legal processes seeking access to any data collected from you and held by us. Though in some cases, we may be unable to resist such legal proceedings. In such events, you will immediately be notified.
This privacy notice outlines our information processing practices in relation to you and your personal data and applies when we collect and process personal data from you through our websites or mobile applications. As a user, you have the absolute rights on your personal data and you are free to ask us to update or delete your personal data at any time via info@terrampacis.org.
Published on 24.08.2026 at 13:03 
