Why Black Girls are Magic
Dorothy Dandridge dipped one toe into one end of a swimming pool and panic ensued,
African Skies
Dorothy Dandridge dipped one toe into one end of a swimming pool and panic ensued,
At the other end of the pool Simone Manuel emerged with a gold medal… magic
we are black girls
and we are magic
because we are many
and the voices we hear are many
we are told to be soft enough to be desired
hard enough to survive
smart enough to understand the trouble
dumb enough to shield fragile egos
skinny enough to be Western
wide enough to be African
beautiful enough to be exotic
ugly enough not to care
rich enough to be resilient
poor enough not to threaten
loud enough to be heard
silent enough not to be feared
not to be too fast to be women
not to be too strong to be human
we are black women
we need to be angry enough for our children
we need to be calm enough for our children
we need to be laughing with our children
we don’t need to be weeping for our children
we who have swum across the oceans
we who have trekked across the desert
we are saartjie and semanya
we are moremi and michelle
we are nzinga and condolezza and wangari and harriet and maya and johnson-sirleaf
we are the girl in the photograph and the girl on the ocean bed and the girl on the mountaintop
we are all this
we are black women
we must be magic
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Originally published at folukeifejola.wordpress.com on August 25, 2016.
In hope. In love. In solidarity. In Power. Forever