Senior Moments: Black Women Probe Realities Of Aging Beyond ‘Black Don’t Crack’

By Genoa Barrow | OBSERVER Senior Staff WriterThe term “weathering” is used to describe the deterioration of Black people’s health that stems from the constant stress caused by continued racism and discrimination.Black Americans have weathered many storms, but somehow have managed to look better than they’ve felt.To quote lyrics from late rapper Tupac Shakur’s song “Keep Ya Head Up,” “Dying inside, but outside you’re looking fierce,” stress and continued health issues weigh heavily on a person and cause them to appear much older than they are. Defying this has long been explained with the simple response: “Black don’t crack.”The protective melanin that gives Black people their mahogany hues and chocolate tones has been a cosmic consolation prize of sorts for the centuries of challenges that they’ve faced. Some say having a “Black don’t crack” mindset has helped some people sustain, while others say it’s a dangerous facade to maintain.The OBSERVER recently sat down with women’s advocates Carlene Davis and Kiara Harris, co-founders of the group Sistahs Aging with Grace and Elegance, or SAGE, for a conversation about the realities of aging for Black women. Black may not crack, but Davis and Harris say cracks in the veneer can occur. The...