Sometimes words can help you put words to action, which might be exactly what you need. Sometimes words can be daggers that pierce through injustice. They can disarm you with love. When tackling such a thorny issue of race and racism, words are powerful. They can unify or divide us. Sometimes words can cut through …
Category: Black women
‘Why Am I Finding Only a Few Black Women Essays on Your Blog?’
An answer to a reader’s question. Thank you to all new subscribers who subscribed to my blog this week! One of my readers emailed me a question, ‘why am I finding only a few black women essays on your blog?’ a few days ago. Here’s my answer: If you’re like my reader who is wondering …
When Your White Bosses Are Just Not That Into You
You’re left behind. On the way to our boss’s office, my friend, Haddish, asked, Do you think we will get a promotion this year, Olou? I hope so, I answered. In the law firm we worked, we were the only two black women. We were lawyers who wanted to one day get a seat in a …
13 Embarrassing and Demeaning Statements Not To Say to Black Women
And why you shouldn’t say them. 1. “Are you sure you’re black?” My friend was working with a white colleague on a project. She had just come up with a brilliant idea for a problem they have been trying to solve for weeks. Even though this guy could see that my friend is a black …
Reasons To Love The Dark Skin You’re Born With
Inspired by a post from the Isolation Journals newsletter. Last Sunday, I read a beautiful piece from the Isolation Journals newsletter. Nikita Gill, a contributor to the newsletter, wrote, “Reasons to Live Through the Apocalypse”. After reading this lovely piece, I was inspired to write lists about why I love my dark skin. I hope you’re …
The Violence We Silently Endure As Black Women
When you’re a black woman, sometimes protecting someone you love takes over your pain. Leave him, I begged. A few years ago, I lived in a tiny apartment next to a young couple. They were black and in their late 20s. They were always fighting. For one year, I heard the woman’s screams, her pleadings, …
‘Which Books Do You Pull From Your Bookshelf and Read Again Whenever Racial Discrimination Makes You Feel Like You’re Falling Into a Black Hole?’
An answer to a subscriber’s question. Today I’m answering a subscriber’s question I received this week. Here’s my answer to, ‘Which books do you pull from your bookshelf and read again whenever racial discrimination makes you feel like you’re falling into a black hole?’ Before I became a writer, I read a lot. After I …
This Precious Dark Skin, my new newsletter
Hi friends, Just wanted to let you know I’m super excited to create a newsletter for my black women stories. I named my newsletter, This Precious Dark Skin. A fitting name for a black woman’s skin, which is precious. Here’s my first post: The ‘Confidence Gap’ Continues Keeping Black Women Away From Professional Advancement If …
Black Girls Deserve To Be Children
They deserve to rest and play, justice and equality, safety and opportunity, and protection. A friend of mine sent me a link to a New York Times article with a headline, ‘No Time to be a Child’. Until I read this article I didn’t realize it was possible for my heart to break more than …
An Open Letter To My Black Friend Who Is Getting Surgery To Change Her Features To “Fit In” White Institutions
A gentle reminder to black women to wear their faces proudly. “Some people say we got a lot of maliceSome say it’s a lotta nerveBut I say we won’t quit movin’Until we get what we deserve …Say it loud – I’m black and I’m proud!” James Brown lyrics from “Say It Loud – I’m Black and …