My Daughter

Today I choose to be heard, to express myself, here’s where I start. Afraid? Yes, nervous? Yes. I have to start and here I am. We all have stories, lessons in love and life, a journey that has our name written all over it. Where I display the women that I have come to be and the woman that is still growing inside of me. It took me 26 years to love me, the skin that I am in and all that comes with it. I choose to stand and live in my truth. 

 I was born and raised in South Carolina. I moved to Florida with my mom and brothers when I was 15. At the tender age of 20 I became pregnant with my daughter. Yesterday she asked, “What is a black woman?”. It raised so many questions about myself, about her, about what I haven’t taught her or all the many things of this world we don’t know. I told her that I am a black woman and that one day she will be too. I asked her if she wanted to see a picture of a black woman and when she said, “yeah” I showed her a picture of my aunt. 

  I left out so many details of what it is to be a black woman. The great things like our beauty, brains and strength. I also left out the bad labels and disrespect we face. I want her to be a proud black woman one day, I want all of our daughters to stand tall with their heads held high full of pride. We won’t ask to be accepted, we will get what we deserve. We will fight harder than we have before. We will conquer. We are “Black Woman”. 

 Great Read: “Shifting: the double lives of black women in America”