Look, I know what people are going to say. They're going to say that I'm deluded. However, I see myself as a thinking woman with a proactive approach to life's problems. My name is Shamika Dawson. At five-foot-seven and one hundred and eighty pounds of curvy, jet-Black, busty and big-bottomed Black womanhood, I think I'm alright. This story's feisty heroine was born and raised in the City of Detroit, Michigan. The life of an African-American woman is seldom easy, and in this recession the fight for survival has gotten tougher. I recently graduated from University of Detroit Mercy with a bachelor's degree in Criminal Justice. My next stop will be Wayne State University's School of Law. I want to become a lawyer someday and make my mark upon the world. Like many of my sisters, I ponder the dilemma of the supposedly undereducated Black male and what it means to me as a heterosexual Black woman who happens to be fond of the chocolate brothers.
A lot of the sisters at the University of Detroit Mercy are dating White men, and that's fine by me. I just don't think it's for me. In my experience with White men, they feel threatened by anyone who doesn't look like them and happens to have a mind of their own. And they're far more violent than Black men could ever be, no matter what the criminologists tell you. The City of Detroit is a very violent place and we see all kinds around here. There's been racial clashes between gangs of Latino guys and Black men here. And yes, even in this predominantly African-American metropolis, there are White supremacists and skinheads. My neighbor Nancy Chang was a beautiful Asian-American woman whose family moved to the Bagley neighborhood of Detroit from the region of Shanghai, China, a while back. Interestingly, although she barely looked a shade darker than the average Chinese woman, Nancy was biracial. Born to an African-American father and a Chinese mother. Her father was in the U.S. Army back in the day and met her mother while visiting the region of Shanghai, China. How cool is that?
I knew Nancy at University of Detroit Mercy. I was a bridesmaid at her wedding to Todd Sands, a handsome Irish-American lawyer from Boston, Massachusetts. They seemed like a perfect couple. Nancy was studying for her doctorates in civil engineering at University of Detroit Mercy and she had a high-paying job as a contractor with City Hall. During the recession, Todd Sands lost his job. That put a big strain on their marriage, especially since Nancy became the sole breadwinner. After six months without a job, Todd Sands came home one night and shot Nancy before turning the gun on himself. I was shocked, to tell you the truth. Nancy had scores of African-American lady friends at the University of Detroit Mercy. She wasn't like some of the other Chinese people I knew in Detroit. They seemed to worship White folks and despise Black people. At Nancy's funeral, I saw several of my African-American female classmates with their White boyfriends. My sisters were quite emotional but their men just stood there, looking bored, annoyed or simply emotionless. White men. So many of my sisters see them as knights in shining armor. They seem perfect. Until they kill you. Small wonder they make up ninety nine point nine percent of all serial killers. Give me a Black man any day, with all of his infuriating flaws. At least he won't kill me in the middle of the night. If he tires of me, he'll just leave.
The death of Nancy shook me hard, but it also made me realize how short and precious life really is. A few months ago, I was really envious of Nancy. She was finally getting her doctorate's in civil engineering from the University of Detroit Mercy. And she had a husband who practiced law. How lucky she seemed in my eyes. This lovely young woman born of an African-American father and Chinese mother. My vivacious sister-friend. Gone forever because of a murderous, egotistical White male who couldn't stand the fact that his minority wife was the breadwinner while he was laid off. Talk about having a fragile ego. What a loser! I vowed to always be careful with who I let into my life. I didn't want to end up like Nancy. Yeah, I was armed with a bachelor's degree in Criminal Justice from the University of Detroit Mercy. That's all fine and good. What's a sister to do with that during the worst recession to hit America since Hoover? These days, even White people have trouble finding jobs. You really think the lily-White leaders of the business world are going to hire someone who looks like me? Fat chance.