Baby, Zora Neale Hurston started that novel with, "Ships at a distance have every man's wish on board." Toni Morrison opened on, "Quiet as it's kept, there were no marigolds in the fall of 1941." Black women writers just KNEW how to start a novel. Lord let us keep those recipes.
Some beautiful parts of you developed in the dark,
You don’t need constant attention to know yourself.
You’re not hiding.
You’re healing, preparing, and birthing your new beginning.
“The most important thing is that you become the best version of yourself.
Are you better today than you were yesterday? If the answer is yes then you’re on the right track.
That’s the mamba mentality.”
— Kobe Bryant
Decades later & the words of Black psychologist, Dr. Amos Wilson, still ring relevant. Laws aren’t sacred, but created to maintain self-interest & matter when they can be enforced or manipulated. 🗣️“[We] can’t protect ourselves by depending upon the laws made by [our] enemies.”
today i'm gleefully back at the library of congress (@librarycongress) to continue my research on tenderness in black film for my residency.
the day started with a toni morrison interview i've never seen before.
I am not a “Woman of Color.”
Baby, I am a BLACK woman.
I am Black by intention, identity, culture, position,& power.
I am Black in movement, breath, song, laughter,& language.
I am Black in family, village, earth, wind,& fire.
I am not a woman of color.
I am a Black woman.