Fist bump to BuzzFeed!
I am on a real high after my Facebook buddy Tiffany Thomas Lewis sent a BuzzFeed article my way that had a picture of me and my magical brown girl Mikaela, with our fists raised, afros fluffed and brown skin glistening all up on the BuzzFeed website in a feature called “14 Ways to Raise A Radical Black Girl.”
***Insert me doing the NEW Running Man***
What an honor! Y’all do know that BuzzFeed gets like a kajillion hits daily right? I’m not going to break down the article because I do want y’all to click and check out the awesome article itself on the BuzzFeed site. But what I will say is it means a whole helluva lot to me to be recognized for something that means everything to me. Growing up I didn’t appreciate myself at all. I was called all kinds of bald head, black and ugly in my day and it really took a toll on me as a child. But one thing I knew for sure is that when I became a mother and had kids, they were going to LOVE every ounce of who they are. They were going to OWN all of their excellence and understand that they are brown and brilliant and beautiful. Every nook and cranny of their kinks and curls are MAGICAL and makes them all kinds of special. I wanted them to accept themselves without feeling like they have to compromise themselves. But even more, I taught them to STAND OUT and NOT try to fit in.
I am proud to say I have raised FREE black girls. I let my girls BE who they are. We don’t conform to what society calls norms. I remember one day at school a Vice Principal got upset because my daughter hair had color in it. Why shouldn’t it? She wanted color. Why should she be 20 years old before that happens. A lot of people put perms in their child’s hair so why can’t my child get color? Is there a rule book on this? No. We make our own rules. My daughters express themselves through their talents, interests and clothes too. Mikaela has put quite a few kids in check because of her quirky fashion style, big Afros and confident attitude. She has become respected by her peers who understand that she is unique and many have even tried to cop her style. My daughter Kaitlin received the highest compliment from a teacher who said that Kaitlin OWNS her uniqueness and marches to the beat of her own drum.
And how about Mikaela wanting to start her own organization called Brown Girl Magic? How awesome is that? Radical girls rule the world. Strong, confident and self-assured is what it’s all about. And when your daughters have that, there is nothing that can knock them off their square! get it girls!
This article explains some great ways to follow suit and raise radical black girls of your own. Check it out and leave a comment on the BuzzFeed post! Shout out to Jasmine Banks @DJazzo for writing an awesome article and bringing attention to an excellent topic!
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