1. Your every breath is ammunition and your every word is a shotgun bullet.
It’s no wonder why you’re hushed, why society wants you to shut up and deems you angry when you don’t. They simply cannot comprehend your firepower. Speak up and use it.
2. When he says you are pretty for a black girl, he is trying to tell you in the sweetest way possible that for the sake of having your full lips and curves, he is willing to pardon the Africa running through your veins.
He does not want all of you, so don’t give him any of you. You don’t need him.
3. It’s okay if you can’t dance.
4. No matter what anyone says, you are not ‘talking white.’
There is no monopoly on speaking with proper English.
5. Don’t trade in your kinky hair for the sake of normality.
Dare to be unfamiliar, no matter how many combs you break. I assure you, you will turn just as many heads.
6. Do not feel discouraged if your fellow black man does not recognize the magnificence before him, it is not your fault no matter what venomous self-hating words fly from his mouth.
Do not let them pierce your self-esteem, don’t let him make you feel inferior for the amount of times the Sun decided to kiss your skin.
7. I’m pretty sure the Moon, just like him, is jealous of the light in your smile.
8. Don’t worry if your body doesn’t exactly remind others of Serena Williams, Beyoncé or Erykah Badu.
Your soul is what truly matters, and the melanin in your skin makes you just as ‘Black’ as anyone else.
9 . Don’t ever underestimate the power you have.
It is your touch that turns regular black men into kings. You build us; without your steady honeyed voice we have no foundation and even though we don’t always want to admit it, we need you.
