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Author. Actress. Blasian Gal.

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Centering & Celebrating Women of Color

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“We Black writers, just by being Black, have been on the blacklist all our lives…Censorship for us begins at the color line.” -Langston Hughes

Hughes expressed the same sentiments that Black authors like myself still express today. Our stories and voices have been de-centered and displaced.

This is why I center and celebrate women of color in my writing and art.

I look forward to the day when we, as Black artists, will no longer have to repeat what our elevated ancestor, Langston Hughes, had said.

I look forward to the day when Black stories and voices are uplifted and celebrated, and I’m starting that celebration here—in this online space.

And still, I rise

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I have to admit, pushing past the hard stuff in my life has been…hard. I’ve had to burn bridges, make soul-brave decisions, and release what no longer served me.

In the end, I didn’t lost much, but I gained myself. How are you rising up today?

Celebrate!

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“The more you praise and celebrate your life, the more there is in life to celebrate.”

Oprah Winfrey

It’s Friday! I have had a lot of good news, and I’m celebrating all of it.

But I’m also celebrating who I’ve become in the process. How about you? #BlackGirlMagic

You’re Made of Stars

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“Wisdom is higher than a fool can reach.” -Phillis Wheatley

You’re made of the stars, and so reach higher than fools.

Know Your Worth

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“No one can figure out your worth but you.” -Pearl Bailey

I learned Pearl Bailey’s wisdom the hard way. Once I learned it, I never forgot it. Set your value.

Know your worth because there’s a world out there that’ll like to tell Black + Brown women they are worthless.

What takes your breath away?

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“Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.”

Maya Angelou

What leaves you in awe? What makes you whole? Follow that. Follow it for the rest of your waking life.

Lift Your Head

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“I sit and sew–a useless task it seems, my hands grown tired, my head weighed down with dreams.”

Alice Dunbar-Nelson

Is your heart sick with unmet dreams? Persevere. Don’t give up. Your desire is just around the corner.

My Encounter with Alex Haley

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This past weekend, I went to a Coast Guard (CG) gathering for the celebration of the CG’s birthday. My husband was in the Navy for five years, and so he gets invites to these events.

Anyways, when I was on this boat, one of the Captains gave a speech. He said the birthday of the CG was 228 years ago. I did some mental math and figured out the date, August 4, 1790. Four years after the signing of the Declaration of Independence (the one TJ drafted).

Then I got annoyed. Did ships like the one I stood on carry human cargo? My husband confirmed that they would have likely carried human cargo too because the CG transfers cargo. (Have to fact check that one.) There were some young, Black members of the CG there. It was mostly White people and their families. So I was feeling all types of ways.

Seeing everyone happy and taking pictures just made me feel sick. I couldn’t get the thought of human bodies being in the bottom of ships like this one out of my mind. So I eventually left and sat on the bench at the pier until my husband was finished.

Later, my husband met up with me and said: “I know why you were feeling that way. When I went on the tour, I saw this picture of Alex Haley in the Captain’s room. He worked on this ship as a mess boy and wrote short stories in his spare time. Perhaps while working on this ship, he had similar thoughts as you, which led him to eventually write ‘Roots’.”

God works in mysterious ways, huh? Maybe I had to come here to make a spiritual touch point, similar to my trip to Monticello.