Caricatures, memes, myths, stereotypes and flat-out lies have dominated the social perceptions of Black womanhood. Political figures, celebrities, television personalities and everyday average Black women have been victimized by the sociopolitical racist and sexist ideologies that control the discourse entrapping Black females. Black women's respectability continues to suffer given theses systematic assaults, which has swelled into microaggressions, insults and blatant racism. Not one Black woman has been excluded from these vicious injustices, not even the former first lady of the United States. In 2009, Michelle Obama became the first African American first lady of the United States of America, yet her womanhood was unfailingly contested. Despite her many accolades, Michelle Obama was reduced to a slave-descended baby mama. News media, magazines, social media outlets and political commentators questioned the legitimacy of her serving as first lady from the time her husband, Barack Obama, first announced his candidacy for the presidency. This gross mistreatment of her right to serve as first lady illustrates the profound impact of racism, sexism and racial hatred on Black womanhood. Even still, like the millions of African foremothers that came before her, Michelle Obama proclaimed and affirmed her womanhood in her commitment to motherhood and service to others. Her dedication extended beyond her family, as she launched national campaigns focused on health and wellness. Michelle Obama's womanhood embodied the core principles of African womanhood as she unapologetically embraced her African American heritage. Similar to Black women across the nation and world, self-definition and determination proved to be pivotal in the survival of Black womanhood amid egregious condemnation of their humanity.

The Mammy, Jezebel and Sapphire stereotypes have long been used to inform the world's understanding of Black womanhood and continue to guide perceptions of Black women globally (Allison 2016; Gammage 2015). Although created in the nineteenth century, these racialized myths have endured for three centuries and have governed the treatment of Black womanhood in media, literature, theory, law and politics. As they transitioned into media and literature, Black women's image was bound to these exploitative labels. Yet, despite these falsifications, Black women have continuously fought against racial and gender oppression for themselves and their communities.