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 …
Tag: race
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 …
The Cost of Suppressed, Repressed, Diverted and Ignored Anger
And why you need to be aware of your anger so it doesn’t become your boss. When I am angry I wonder what on earth I can do to not be angry. My anger disappoints me – I should be able to control, contain myself. I’ve learned it’s not possible to not be angry. “Anger …
Women Are Tired of The Stigma Around Female Rage
We want to see safe spaces for black women to express our justifiable anger. The stigma around female rage was, buried in the middle of a long paragraph, ‘too angry’. A few days ago, as part of a promotion conversation, my boss was giving me feedback and reading out a list of things that would …
How To Be Honorable As A Woman And Demolish The Double Standards
The two ways you can accept any special treatment as a privilege and not a right. Any special treatment a woman gets (such as not paying for lunch) is a privilege and not a right. Yes, I am a woman, and I came to this conclusion and I hate having to admit it. I have …
Women Are Still Judged Harshly for Being Emotional
We don’t have to self-censor, edit, and apologize for expressing our emotions. Perhaps we judge women for being emotional because we suppress our emotions. Perhaps we inhibit women from expressing their emotions because we were not allowed to do so ourselves. Perhaps we fear the emotional intensity of seeing someone express their emotions – especially …