Color hierarchy is the way of the world and as children we quietly observe and absorb like sponges; the way our mothers stay out of the sun, the way teachers praise some children on their abilities and some on their appearance. As we grow older we soak up ‘harmless’ teasing from our peers and backhanded …
Adore Your Blackness
At a very young age, brown/black people have a reckoning with their melanin. Why should a child have to question why they are covered in not-white skin? The melanated skin comes up against white images of beauty that have been portrayed as perfection through the ages. I already recognized when I was only a few …
Brown
I am as brown as the earth Because I was woven from the earth with purityBrown
I am not my hair
In the early 2000’s, India Arie came out with a single named, “I Am Not My Hair”. This song became the national anthem for all those women of color who were natural and coming into their own in a society that doesn’t view them as the standard of “beautiful”. The chorus of the song sings, …
Hey, Black Child…
Hey Black ChildDo you know who you areWho you really areDo you know you can beWhat you want to beIf you try to beWhat you can be Hey Black ChildDo you know where you are goingWhere you’re really goingDo you know you can learnWhat you want to learnIf you try to learnWhat you can learn …
Normalize Melanin
Black men and women are worthy... It is important that we prioritize our wants and needs, because that is what we deserve. We need to start taking care of ourselves, and making sure our peace, rest, joy and freedom are never compromised. Many a times, we have to bend over backwards and make ourselves small …
Black Is King
If you're like many of us that are active on social media, you'll be aware of the project that Beyonce released on August 1st, titled Black Is King. The project, an hour and a half long, is a pure celebration of black people and black culture, not just in the United States of America but …
The Black Man
In as much as we promote self love in our black women, we also need to do the same with our black men. Often times, we neglect them out of these conversations and expect them to strong, despite society tearing them down constantly. We neglect to ask them if they are okay, if they have …
Colorism – Shades of Black
This is a topic that many black people have tried to shy away from. It's either we bring it up and not fully address it, or we opt to sweep it under the rug completely. So, what is colorism? It is best defined as a practice of discrimination by which those with lighter skin are …
Mantra
For those of us that used to watch the show, Being Mary Jane, the most memorable aspect would be the little notes that Mary Jane had on her wall. Affirmations of sorts, or mantras as I like to call them. I adopted that thinking and began reciting a mantra every morning, or whenever i was …
My Black Is Beautiful 