Let Black Girls Be, Black

I was scrolling down my timeline on Twitter today and the question was asked by @MyBlackMatters, “What steps do you think we can take to help young black girls learn to love their blackness from a very young age?” My answer is simple, let Black girls be Black.

Let us be happy in our own skin. We don’t need your opinion of what you think the standard of beauty is. Stop mentioning our skin tone when complimenting us. It's like reverse psychology. You're beautiful but if it were not for this one aspect of you, you'd be more beautiful. I know as a young girl that messed me up. Constantly hearing "you're pretty for a dark skinned girl" almost ruined my self esteem. To live in a society were we are taught that if you are lighter you are more loved and accepted is disheartening.

Let us do our hair, however we please! It honestly doesn’t matter if we are natural or relaxed, what products do y’all pay for. Do you spend coins on our hair maintenance? Does our hair make you lose profit? Does our hair make you lose sleep at night? I don’t think so and if it does, that’s a personal problem! People spend so much time obsessing over whether or not our hair will be pleasing to them when it isn’t even that serious. Let us wash and go or relax our edges.

Let us bask in the power of our Black girl magic. We are like no other group of women on this planet! LET US HAVE THAT! It’s ok if you don’t want to celebrate us but what you won’t do is interfere with us celebrating who we uniquely are. You have no idea what it means to be a Black woman but we do. Our girls are watching, let us show them that it is ok to love who you are. Let us lead by example with the self love. Let us instill in them that they are perfect just the way that they are. That they are not mistakes. That they are free to be and become whoever they dream they can be. That we will support them!! Stop teaching us that we are not enough, that we are not worthy, that we are useless. Stop placing stipulations and limits on our beauty. Stop shaming us for being who we were created as. Stop treating us like this and let Black Girls be Black! After all, that is who we are.