ABSTRACT
This chapter examines Black patriarchal stealth and how it produces a mother wound within Black women and girls. In so doing, the chapter considers the ways in which Black patriarchal stealth shields Black men and boys from accountability. By turning to contemporary discussions about Korryn Gaines’ defense of her home and Megan Thee Stallion's domestic assault at the hands of Tory Lanez, the chapter addresses the longstanding intracommunal tensions among Black men and women. Additionally, the extrajudicial killings of Black men and the counter-narratives inform my discussion of Black women grappling with extending their labors to these slain men despite their misogynoiristic pronouncements. Through the examination of Black women's political writings like June Jordan's Black Woman Anthology and Michele Wallace's Black Macho and the Myth of the Superwoman, this chapter contextualizes the current moments as a persistent mother wound in which Black women and girls seeking nurturing from within our community rarely find it. Their Eyes Were Watching God provides the foundation for my examination of Black women rejecting Black patriarchal stealth as a means of healing themselves. As a result, the chapter also addresses how Black women may begin to mother ourselves.
