There are moments in a person’s journey when honesty becomes more important than comfort. This is one of those moments.
The question before us is simple, yet as unsettling as it is challenging: Are we ready to confront Black male chauvinism?
Because let’s be clear—this isn’t theoretical. This “stuff” is real, and it’s getting realer by the day. And it’s damaging.
From barbershops to pulpits, podcasts to political commentary, we are witnessing a troubling pattern: Some Black men (a vocal minority) publicly embracing and amplifying misogynistic views that undermine Black women—our mothers, sisters, partners, daughters, etc.
A deeper issue revealed
The 2024 election cycle exposed fault lines that many hoped didn’t exist, though sisters have been hollering about this for decades.
Despite Kamala Harris’s historic candidacy, some Black male voices chose to attack rather than uplift. High-profile figures like D.L. Hughley and Charlamagne tha God later acknowledged spreading misinformation, but only after false narratives had already taken root. The damage wasn’t just political; it was also cultural. And even more brothers leading the anti-Kamala campaign have yet to lighten up. Even in the face of irrefutable evidence that their actions led to a Commander-in-Chief who has brought the globe to the brink of annihilation while exposing American (i.e., white) mediocrity for all the world to see, these “brothers” remain committed to tearing a sister down.
It sent (and continues to send) a message: that even in moments of historic possibility, some Black men will default to suspicion, dismissal, or outright hostility toward Black women in power. And perhaps more troubling, some Black ministers preached this poison, framing their opposition through a distorted white supremacist theological lens. In so doing, they echoed the same “slave be obedient to your master” nonsense that enslavers told them to preach while our people lived in chains.
Christian contradiction
In 2026, there are still Black churches that won’t allow women in the pulpit—even though “er’body know” Black women not only run Black churches, they’re the glue that holds them together.
In a community where Black women have been the backbone—organizers, funders, visionaries, and sustainers—far too many Black faith institutions are denying them spiritual authority. As if spiritual authority is the church’s to give. This contradiction is outdated and indefensible (unless you use a male-centric read of scripture to justify your male chauvinism).
As Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” That includes injustice within our own communities.
Author bell hooks confronted another troubling and challenging reality when she said, “Patriarchy has no gender.” In other words, hatin’ on women, Black women specifically, is not just a white thing or a male thing. In a society where everyone is indoctrinated in anti-Blackness and in the notion that women are the “inferior” of the species, there are plenty of Blackfolk and women of all races willing to defend this asinine status quo.
Online echo
Beyond institutions, a new threat is emerging in digital spaces. A growing number of young brothers are parroting white nationalist, incel-adjacent rhetoric that’s anti-woman, anti-autonomy, and anti-humanity.
Because when Black men adopt frameworks that dehumanize women (Black women specifically), they are—whether knowingly or not—operating from the same playbook that has dehumanized Black people from back in the day to today.
Unfortunately, and to our shame as Black men, Malcolm X’s words are still true: “The most disrespected person in America is the Black woman.”
Self-sabotage in real time
Let’s be honest: any ideology or behavior that diminishes Black women is not just harmful, it’s self-destructive.
We brothers don’t exist apart from our sisters. We’re born of them, raised by them, loved by them, and sustained by them. To undermine them is to weaken ourselves.
If we’re serious about Black liberation, self-determination, and institution-building, then unity is not optional, and support of the full empowerment of Black women is essential. As Angela Davis reminds us, “We have to talk about liberating minds as well as liberating society.” That includes confronting internalized sexism.
The legacy we’re ignoring
Black women have consistently been at the forefront of struggle—from abolition to civil rights to modern-day movements for justice. They have fought for all of us—even when we didn’t fight for them. Black women, we’re side pieces when we (our ancestors) built civilizations and religion, science, the arts, and more. They were, and still are, co-creators.
So the question becomes: Why aren’t we doing everything in our power to reciprocate? Why aren’t more Black men actively working to support, protect, elevate, and partner with Black women? Anything less than that is not just insufficient.
And don’t get me wrong. There are brothers out here on the front lines, being the biggest and boldest advocates for this change, doing so with words and actions. But more are needed.
Moving forward requires accountability
A changed world (reality) requires changed people. That means the world our mothers, daughters, spouses, nieces, aunties, co-workers, pastors, professors, and friends who are soul sisters deserve requires us, as brothers, to hold ourselves and each other accountable.
That means challenging harmful rhetoric, whether in the barbershop or Bethany Fifth Baptist Church. It means rejecting divisive ideologies in school classrooms or any rooms we find ourselves. It means actively building relationships rooted in respect, equity, and shared purpose.
Because the future we say we want—a future of Black power, dignity, and freedom—cannot exist in a culture where half the community is diminished. Black male chauvinism must end. Not later. Not gradually. Now. Because if we don’t confront it and end it, it will end us.
