From the Women’s March to Lady Gaga performing at the Super Bowl, it seems that 2017 is quickly becoming the year of the woman.

The march, which drew millions across the nation, is nothing new. Since the fight for the vote and even much earlier on, there have been protests or marches advocating for women’s rights. But within the larger struggle for gender equality, there’s a smaller battle taking place among America’s black women – the fight to destroy deeply ingrained stereotypes that simply aren’t true.

We can talk about women of other backgrounds another day. But for now, with it being Black History Month, we need to discuss sistuhs. The fact is, a black woman’s struggle is not the same as a white woman. Have an honest conversation with any black woman and she’ll tell you that she has to code switch or change how she speaks in her daily life. If she doesn’t, she’ll likely be labeled as an angry black woman or ghetto. Yes, I said ghetto. This label of “angry and black” seeks to invalidate very real emotions and issues black women disproportionately face. Additionally, it ignores the various environmental factors that contribute to the creation of this “tougher” lining many black women have; we are most likely to experience poverty, some of the lowest wages and we must fear for our families every day in a way many Americans don’t have to.

And just because a black woman isn’t walking around with a smile on her face, does that mean she’s bitter and angry? Where did that idea even come from? The simple answer is history.

Even before the gatekeepers of television and film created the many black women stereotypes we see in media, there were earlier examples during slavery. During slave trades, black people had their families ripped apart. Often, black men were sold and shipped hundreds of miles away, children gone to the highest bidder. Black women having to constantly take care of families that could be ripped apart at a moment’s notice and having to fend for themselves likely turned them “angry and bitter.” The bitter and angry attitude frames the “Sapphire” stereotype, one of three labels typically placed on a black woman. The Mammy and the Jezebel are the other two, which both somehow seem to fall back to angry black woman as well when dissected further.

Fast forward to the modern era with mass media and these stereotypes are reinforced in TV and film. Some of your favorite television shows from the 70’s and 80’s always had a black woman who was mad or yelling. This is why the angry black woman stereotype persists. For some, it’s entertaining. For others, it reminds us of an aunt or your own mother. However, the problem becomes when these characters aren’t developed further or when they are some of the only roles we have. Simply put, when people continue seeing these images on television, they can’t help but start believing them. Even in 2017, a black woman is still portrayed in many films as the angry and powerful one in the movie. The Ghostbusters Movie, with Leslie Jones, is a great example.

This idea that the entire African-American female community is angry and bitter needs to die. One way to change how black women are viewed is to support movies and television shows that promote us in a positive light. The show ‘Black-ish” and the recent film “Hidden Figures” feature our sisters as intelligent and loving mothers. They all still cared about important issues but they were allowed to convey these emotions in dynamic ways; like real black women do.

You can’t wave a magic wand to make this disappear. In the end change will start with you. If you think that you are being viewed as this angry black woman it may be good to start a conversation, especially because it’s often the first step to invalidating your emotions. You can only be yourself and people who don’t know you make up their own assumptions about you without even saying ‘Hi” first. Speak up! Like the saying goes reach one, teach one. Now you don’t have to go on an explanation tour but know that you don’t owe anyone an apology for being you or for speaking up about the things that matter to you.