A Love Note to Women of Color
This piece is Part III of a 3-part series on race and inclusion. You can read Part I here and Part II here.
Over the last year, I have been on a journey of self-love and transformation. I am learning to love my skin, my body, and my identity. I write this reflection for my sisters who I share this journey with.
It is strange how something like color which has no mass or weight
Can make you feel so heavy
So often I resented the pigment of my skin as a burden
~
As a young girl I remember looking at the
girls with blonde hair and blue eyes
And thinking that they were so beautiful
That my darkness and fullness would never allow me to be
Desired
Like they were.
~
But as I grew older I started to learn about where I came from
The majestic queens whose legacy of womanhood I inherited
The cultural jewels and lavish colors that other women wished they had
The golden threads handspun into my skin’s glowing hue
~
After I learned about my glorious roots
I entered into a chrysalis of revolution to begin unraveling
To unlearn everything that they taught me to hate myself
To unlearn feminism that did not include me
To unlearn beauty standards centered around whiteness
~
To emerge as a
powerful beautiful remarkable
woman of color
proud of who I was, who I am, and who I will be
~
As I leave my cocoon and blossom into the woman that was
hidden within me
I remember all of the women who showed me the way
Who showed me my gifts and my talents
And taught me how to love myself unapologetically
~
To my women of color
We carry within us the power to transform the world
We stand on the shoulders of generations of women
who fought for us
To take up our earned space at the table
~
So I invite you to unravel, too
And destroy the myth of our inferiority
The world can not heal without you, my sister
Won’t you join me?
_