Bellyempire:
Hello Everyone
I appreciate the feedback everyone has given. I am thankful that everyone took the time to read and to think about what I wrote and form an opinion about it. Thats flattering for any writer.
I will add another point of reference from which to provide criticism to the work. What if the author was a POC.
Please continue providing your feedback.
Hun, you wrote a protagonist that is, essentially, a mammy character. That's a really harmful, hurtful stereotype. And if you were a black man, that wouldn't make it better.
If I recall correctly, your wife is black. Mayhaps you should run your stories by her. She can provide you with better insight into how to write black women that in a way that isn't racist.
Looking through some of your other stories, this seems to be a recurring issue for you. It is possible for you, a cishet white man to write about WOC in a way that doesn't play into harmful racial stereotypes.
As a general rule of thumb, if you are writing about things you do not have personal experience with, you should research. It makes for a better-written character.