14 Reasons (and counting) on why I love being a black woman...

I love being black. I love my skin... the color of it... the texture. I love how there is not one crayon that matches its brown pigment exactly. I love the various shades we as black women cover.  I love that our hair, a lot like our history, will not simply lay down... it rises...defying gravity...bucking against the weight of it all, and creates culture. I asked a few of my close friends, and all around amazing black women to share why they love being black, and why there's no place they would rather be than in this skin... 

"Black women were created of brown sugar and raw honey. Be wary of anyone who tells you otherwise." - Alex Elle 

"I love being black. I love being a black woman! I love my skin. It is rich, of color. I am a true child of the sun. I love the sun, and as a woman of color, I revel in the kiss of the sun, knowing it only deepens my complexion and warms and invigorates my soul!" - Kimberly Durdin
 

"From my hips to my lips I'm beautiful! From my eyes to my thighs I'm beautiful! From my hair to my hue I'm beautiful! My love, my laughter, my rhythm, my voice and my smile are embodiments of the original woman... and she is fearfully and wonderfully made. For that reason, black is the skin that I'm in... and it is awesome!" - Angela J. Williams

"As women, we are manifestations of grace, confidence, and class. Being black women's the exclamation point, the soul. We have a responsibility to carry ourselves in a way that not only uplifts ourselves, but our daughters, our sisters, our mother and grandmothers. Our history and our experiences, both individually and collectively, make us interesting, intricate, and powerful. Let us wear it like the light of the universe." - Jeanette Polynice

"Being a black woman is beautiful to me because we're phenomenal. Literally. Given all the countless obstacles that we're faced with, we always overcome them with resilience. We have this confidence, charisma, and elegance that's embedded in us from birth. We're beautiful. Being a black woman is something that I'm extremely proud of, and it shows by the way I speak, the way I move, and by the way I raise my children. I'm enamored by black women, and by the skin I'm in. I pray to God daily for allowing me to be this woman, to be a strong black woman, to be able to showing spread pride. Black women... Queens." - Courtney Warwick

"Because this is the skin that was created by my ancestors, and beneath it there is so much black wisdom, joy, pain and struggle. And to me, that is beautiful.. and when I look in the mirror that is what I see."  -Erica Chidi-Cohen

"Because I was created by an intentional, loving and perfect God and He chose the skin I would live in and so I wear it with pride knowing I've been fearfully and wonderfully made." - Venice Robinson

"I absolutely love my skin. It's one of the things that makes me feel confident. I also know that I've been given a unique opportunity (when traveling) to expose those who may not regularly be around black women to know what a real black women is like, as opposed to what may be portrayed of us on television and in media." -Anjelica Malone

"Being a black woman reminds me of being a badass unicorn. I feel unique, beautiful, powerful and hold unprecedented value. I love being black and feel every black woman should feel as powerful and valued as God created them to be." -Claudia DeMarco

"I believe it is a divine gift to be a black woman. I believe my spirit carries the strength of my ancestors. That alone gives me the ability to transcend beyond any barriers this world creates."    -Ashley Sirah Chea

"As a Black woman in America, I know ALL of the cards are stacked against me. Fiscally, socially... So waking up each morning filled with self love, hearing my children's laughter and reading aloud. Showing them how to grow food and eating healthy. Doing work I love with smart and empowered families. ALL of these things make my teeth white and cause me to joyfully laugh with my ENTIRE being 'cause my Black is beautifully beaming and succeeding!!!" -Racha Tahani Lawler

"Being born a black woman has allowed me to experience life in a way that I feel I could only get by being black. I've lived in the worst of ghettos to the most beautiful hotels on earth and all
the layers in between have given me the soulfulness that makes me me. I think my skin and my hair are expressions of what I've been thru in my life good and bad" -Brandee Harris  

"My mother taught me as a child that our African heritage is a gift. Why would I reject what I was born to be? I am a Black woman. My mother is a Black woman. My sisters are Black women. This is who I am, who we are, and I am so grateful." - Chika Roulet

Photo Credit: John Esparza




 

Q&A With Joy Bryant... Loving the Skin You're In

NSPP--What does loving the skin you’re in mean to you?

JB--It means accepting myself- mind, body and soul. It means being comfortable with who I am. Flaws and all.

NSPP--What has proven to be the most important lesson learned thus far?

JB--That I can’t look to the world to validate me. I don’t need the world to tell me anything about myself that I should already know: that I am lovable; that my voice matters; that my ideas make sense and deserve the space to expand.

NSPP--in a world full of patriarchy..How do you fight to own your body?

JB--Being older, married and more secure in who I am, I don’t have the need to cater to the male gaze at large anymore. Only one male’s gaze matters, my husband’s, and even then I’d like to think his gaze is not solely focused on my physical attributes, but what’s going on in my mind and in my heart. 

NSPP--Would your younger self like the person that you are today?

JB--Hell yeah she would! 

Photo Credit: Kristen Cleary

NSPP--What piece of advise would your older self give to your younger self? and Vice Versa.

JB--I would tell her to stop trying to be like everybody else, stop trying to be cool. “Being cool” for the sake of just being cool is so overrated and wack! The coolest people are the ones who are simply themselves no matter what. I would tell her that she’s beautiful as she is.

NSPP--What are your thoughts on the #BlackGirlMagic Movement? Do you believe that its necessary? If so, why? How do you spread #BlackGirlMagic?

JB--Black Girl Magic is a declaration that our beauty, our humanity matters: from the physical to the spiritual, the intellectual and the emotional. Black Girl Magic is our unapologetic presence, our liberation, our gift to the world,our gift to ourselves and each other.

NSPP-If you were abandoned on an island…alone…AND you could only bring 3 items…what would those 3 items be?  

JB--The book, “Women Who Run With The Wolves”, a notebook and a pencil.

Photo Credit: Kristen Cleary