#blackwomen

Jan 31
3 min

Why Relationship Status Shouldn't Define Black Women

I wrote a letter to myself, during my senior year of high school, that still makes me smile. In it I expressed my joy of finally being done with a chapter of my life that wasn’t easy. I also talked about my dreams of traveling the world, writing books, and not being tied down by a man. In my 18-year-old mind, being married meant a lack of freedom and having to relinquish the person I aspired to be. Even seeing healthy images of marriage, I honestly didn’t buy into two people

Aug 23, 2021
3 min

As The Reckoning Continues

If you’re on social media for any considerable amount of time, at some point you’ll come across someone still questioning if we, as a community, should continue to support R. Kelly – mainly by listening to his music. Although the No’s outweigh the Yes’s, there are a considerable amount of people that don’t see nothing wrong with a little bump and grind. As much as we don’t want to acknowledge it, R. Kelly is a musical genius; dubbed the "Pied Piper of R&B". It will never outw

Aug 2, 2021
2 min

When Belief Means Something More

Oprah says many people are held back from becoming who they were meant to be by shadow beliefs and feelings of unworthiness. Microsoft’s CEO, Satya Nadella, says “Believe in yourself more than you think you do.” It’s Nadella’s statement that is so absorbing for me. You always hear people say, “Believe in yourself”, or they might say they believe in you. If you choose to believe in yourself, it comes from the perspective of the ego. You are making a conscious effort to believe

Jul 26, 2021
2 min

Let Black Women Live

In the 1937 book, Their Eyes Were Watching God, Zora Neale Hurston said that like mules, Black women carry the w wishes on their backs. We smile, we dance, we hide grimaces just to participate. We do everything that is asked of us, exactly how it is asked, even to our own detriment. People don’t concern themselves with whether we wither or not. We’re asked for more of the grueling song and dance, no matter how inauthentic or harmful it may be. The only time there is a problem

Jun 14, 2021
2 min

Writing Is The Freedom I Didn't Know I Needed

It’s a Sunday morning. I’m drinking coffee from one of my infamous mugs, enjoying the sun beaming through the window, and waiting for church service to start – on Facebook Live. It’s been the same routine for over a year now, thanks to a global pandemic. I've grown to not complain. The couch has become the place I go to for commune with myself about writing, self-reflection, being a Black woman, and what I am offering to the world. I’ve always wanted to inspire people to find

Apr 22, 2021
2 min

Her Name is Ma'Khia Bryant

As the verdict was being read early Tuesday evening in the murder trial of George Floyd, 16-year-old Ma’Khia Bryant was being shot and killed by police in Columbus, Ohio. Twenty seconds after arriving on the scene, Officer Nicholas Reardon shot Ma’Khia four times in the chest. You don’t have to watch the video to know he could have – and should have – found another way to deescalate the situation. Many are wondering why couldn't she be subdued with non-lethal force. We wish t

Mar 22, 2021
3 min

Here's Where It's Safe to Take Off Your Mask

In the midst of a divorce many years ago, I found myself weighed down with anxiety and depression. I reached out to family and friends only to notify them of what I was going through but not necessarily how I was getting through. I remember thinking at the time that I needed to be “strong” and figure out how to move past what was happening. I had to get up every morning, put on the proverbial mask, and go to work. I maneuvered through everyday life not giving any inclination

Mar 15, 2021
3 min

Ignorance Is Still Not Bliss, Sharon

We’ve all had some time to process Oprah’s interview with Meghan Markle and Prince Harry, as they dropped bombs of racism and just overall bad treatment she faced from the British press, as well as the Royal Family. Black women especially were not surprised by Meghan’s experiences. We are empathetic to her and believe her, because we could identify with the mental toll that racism can cause. The most gut-wrenching part of the interview was hearing how Meghan had reached a poi

Mar 8, 2021
2 min

International Women's Day: Recognizing All Women

Women’s History Month began as a one-week celebration in March 1982. After being petitioned by the National Women’s History Project, Congress passed a bill in 1987 which designated the month of March as Women’s History Month. Every year, we celebrate the contributions and specific achievements women have made over the course of American History. Today, March 8th, we recognize International Women’s Day which primarily celebrates the movement of women’s rights. This year’s them

Mar 1, 2021
2 min

When You're Really Just Trying to Survive

As a writer, you never know when or if you’ll get that big break. You write and write and pray that someone out there will take notice of the words you’re putting on the page, and then you write and pray and wait some more. In August 2019, I published my third poetry collection, Sixth Sense. It didn’t receive any critical attention or make it to the New York Times bestseller list. But it has sold well, and the little ones in my life recognize I did something cool. The percept

Feb 18, 2021
2 min

You Are Your Best Thing

There’s a moment in Toni Morrison’s book Beloved when male character, Paul D, tells the main female character, Sethe, “You are your best thing.” He says this to her because although she survived the unthinkable, she had lost her sense of value and worth. Sethe believed her value and worth only came from being a mother. But when she lost a child in death, she believed the best thing about her had gone away. Black women are raised and conditioned to believe that there is someth

Jan 25, 2021
3 min

When Black Women Lead: Michele Ghee

There are Black women who speak truth to power every day, and Michele Ghee is one of them. She is the new CEO of Ebony and Jet magazines, and is more than ready and capable for the challenge ahead. Growing up, it didn’t matter whose house you went to, Ebony and Jet magazines would be expertly sprawled across the living room coffee table. It was a cardinal sin to throw them away, or keep them out of plain sight. Their iconic presence meant you were not only “in the know” about

Nov 9, 2020
3 min

Thank You, Black Women

As we look back over this year, it can be safely said that it’s been rough. We had to endure the loss of basketball legend Kobe Bryant, navigate through a global pandemic, and stress over an unprecedented presidential election. Many of us have stressed more this past week than at any other point this year! There was so much at stake, and the country has been ready for change. Despite the hand that we’d been dealt, I believe that we all had the resolve to be in a better place.