Before I go further, this post is not about bashing political affiliations, nor is it about convincing people one way or the other to vote for a particular United States Presidential candidate.

This post is about self-care and mental health practices for Black women entrepreneurs, leaders and professionals during the presidential election. And this post is about how to brand yourself boldly in spite of the undeserved blacklash you see over a member of your community who is in the spotlight.

As a Black woman entrepreneur myself, I will always champion for the mental, emotional, and spiritual well-being of all business owners FIRST. Being that the bulk of my online community, my branding clients and students are Black women, I felt a duty to write a love letter online in case one gets caught in a doomscroll of seeing someone who looks like her be called everything under the sun but a child of God, while preparing to face the world themselves as professionals.

If you’re a Black woman and you’ve been watching the hate-filled rhetoric and thinking “that’s probably what my counterparts think about me,” this blog post is for you.

We’re often told that to have a well-rounded view of world events and politics, we should consume news from various sources. But I need to be clear – for our mental health as Black women, we absolutely should not watch the racist and sexist coverage of Kamala Harris, no matter what side of the political fence you are on.

What they’re saying: “She’s just a diversity hire.”
The truth: She is qualified. PERIOD.

Here’s a list of Kamala’s accomplishments, aka “receipts” as a former prosecutor:

• When we look at Kamala’s early career, we see a woman who didn’t shy away from tough challenges. After passing the bar in the early 90’s, she dove straight into sex crimes prosecution. But instead of treating young girls in prostitution like criminals, Kamala saw them as victims who needed help. She pushed law enforcement to completely change their approach, focusing on rescue rather than punishment. This wasn’t just a job for her – it was a mission to stand up for those who couldn’t defend themselves.

Here’s a list of Kamala’s accomplishments as former U.S. Senator for California:

• Harris “introduced the Maternal CARE Act and the Black Maternal Health Momnibus Act, which would direct multi-agency efforts to improve maternal health, particularly among racial and ethnic minority groups, veterans, and other vulnerable populations as well as maternal health issues related to COVID-19.”

Here’s a list of Kamala’s accomplishments as Vice President of the United States:

• She co-sponsored a bill that turned Juneteenth into a national holiday. In Harris’ own words at a celebration dinner at the White House, she stated “It was my honor to stand beside our President, Joe Biden, when he signed the legislation that made that dream a reality.”

What they’re saying: “She’s a ‘Hawk Tuah’ girl.” – Author Alec Lace on Fox News

The truth: If there was evidence of this, it would have been publicized already. But imagine if Kamala had photos on the Internet similar to what the 45th First lady has (and I don’t shame her decisions at all. I just want you to consider the double standard).

What they’re saying: “She’s as dumb as a rock.” – Former President Donald Trump

The truth: There’s ample video evidence proving her intelligence and capability.

Let’s call out the gross double-standard.

What really infuriates me about Trump is the fact that he can get away with demeaning people, and saying the nastiest things and sometimes outright lying. This hypocrisy is maddening. It highlights how the rules are different for Black women. We’re expected to be flawless while others can behave abhorrently without repercussion. This doesn’t just exist in politics – this is in our workplaces, our communities, and our daily lives. Shoot, if I curse too much, I might not get a speaking engagement. But a presidential candidate has called a Black woman “dumb” from his platform, and he’s also called another Black woman (Omarosa) a “dog” on X, formerly Twitter. There were no consequences.

We cannot afford to ingest these visuals and audio of people in our nation’s leadership spewing such vitriol publicly towards a Black woman. It’s as damaging as hearing “black” associated with “dirty.”

Also, we can’t afford to watch white people call a Black woman “dumb” and “unqualified” when there’s all the evidence that proves the opposite. That’s gaslighting to the 10th degree. That’s why a lot of us don’t know how great we are now. Most times we are the smartest and the most creative in the room. Because typically no one else in the room is truly challenged to be.

So many of us go to jobs where they get the best out of you by keeping you in the dark about how good you are.

You already deal with imposter syndrome enough as it is. We already battle imposter syndrome, often not realizing it stems from a society that fails to protect Black women and doesn’t penalize those who harm us verbally or physically.

This public display of white supremacist water cooler talk made public is NOT just about Kamala. These are thoughts held about US. This is how we are viewed when we enter certain boardrooms. When we reach positions in corporate or in business that are traditionally held by white men, we start hearing unflattering thoughts about us casually blurted out. Whether we are conservative or liberal.

I recommend you get your news about the election from sources like BBC and other world news sources. And I’m not saying only listen to news sources that paint a rosy picture either.

Figure out how you’re gonna filter your news to you in a healthy way.

Can we afford to hear what they’re saying about Kamala for months leading up to November? The answer is no. We can’t. I’m telling you right now we can’t. It’s too damaging.

I’m already slightly retooling my brand consulting business to give Black Women entrepreneurs the tools they need to be more bold in their personal branding.

Why?

It’s very hard to watch a Black woman in leadership be torn down like this, and then turn around and be bold in your own business. And I have to do extra self-care personally as I do this work.

Stay informed about the election polls, but not to your mental, emotional, and spiritual detriment.