In the midst of waiting for my two favorite shows,
Scandal and How To Get Away With Murder, to return to their regular rotation, I
binge watched Season 2 of Being Mary Jane. When the show first aired on BET
(and I had yet to cut the cable cord) I got into the first season, however by
the end of the first season I really wasn’t a fan of Mary Jane, her actions
just screamed desperate and attention seeking. By the end of Season 2 I viewed
her more as a self-absorbed, selfish, narcissist. My reason for continuing to
watch? Lisa Hudson.
Aside from Mary Jane’s own personal storyline, she had
someone in her life that is the portrait of a very secret struggle rampant
among Black women – Mental Illness. Lisa Hudson suffered from severe depression
and often had suicide attempts. On the surface, Lisa was a beautiful,
successful OB/GYN. She had a beautiful home; financial earnings put her in the
top 1%, outgoing personality, incredible fashion sense. Even though Lisa smiled
in front of her friends, she was tormented and dying inside.
Although Being Mary Jane is a TV show, how many of us
know one or a few real life Lisa Hudson’s? How many of us are or have been Lisa
Hudson? Being a Black woman has its challenges, being a Black Lesbian comes
with additional fuel for the flames. I remember a quote from Scandal “You have
to be twice as good to get half of what they have…” Sounds like the story of a
Black woman’s life. Couple that with the stigma in the African-American
community regarding mental illness – we’re not supposed to talk about it, that’s
“White people mess”, you need to go to church and pray it away, medication ain’t
nothing but the Devil, Black people don’t commit suicide.
Black women are regarded as strong, fierce, divas, who
can conquer the world and anything in it. A strong Black woman is supposed to
be educated, have her own home, luxury car, married, homemaker, gourmet chef,
mother of the year, nurse and counselor to everyone in her life, corporate
executive and never complain about any of it because she’s the Wonder Woman of
her world. But who is all these things to her? Who is her counselor when
everything becomes too much? Who looks at her and sees that her smiles are fake,
really hiding darkness and weakness? When does she receive the love, affection,
and kindness that she bestows? When was the last time someone asked her how she
was doing, and really cared to listen to the message behind her answer?
