As history shows, we always display an outpouring of support for our black men and boys, but what about our black women and girls?
The concept of black girl magic is more than the use of your favorite fleeky highlighter to get that glow on our cheek bones just right. Black girl magic is more than the hashtag “melanin poppin” or “yasss slay queen”, but inclusively grants black girls and women the right to know that they are beautiful in their skin. Black girl magic is a concept that has reached several generations with only recently adopting a name that extends to every shade brown and black. Black girl magic is the undeniable notion that we too are loved.
But most importantly, black girl magic is relevant…now let me tell you why.
For generations, we have been told things that are meant to tear us down. We hear things from our peers, family, movies, fashion trends and even significant others that tell us we are only half of what we should be. However, I, like many women who have come before me, and surely will come after me, have finally found a place where we can exist within ourselves.
The term itself rings volumes. It insures that you too are special and that you too are so full of magic, beauty, intelligence, creativity, and love that has no end. This term forces you to deal with yourself on new levels that you otherwise would have never reached without its significance. This term, in all of its brilliant verbiage reminds us that we can glitter and sparkle and coexist with feelings of inadequacy because we are learning how to fight through them.
Black girl magic if anything, is a teaching tool that properly shows us how to get through without getting by. It teaches us how to love and how to be there for your “sister friend” because girl power is the greatest power. Often times we see black women in media portrayed as angry, bitter, mad, or petty but that is not always the case. We are slowly destructing those narratives. This term has unintentionally dissected years of frustration and misunderstanding to show just how soft and delicate we can be.
We are not all mad and attitudinal and we saw an example of this when Solange offered us a set at the table upon Shirley Chisolm’s urge to bring a folding chair.
In return we get the chance to teach our friends, mothers, sisters, daughters, and cousins how to press on “in spite of”. Black girl magic in a sense is like an unspoken language that will reach miles on end. This term has given us a chance to really understand ourselves and our emotions and get down to the root of any issues that we face. No, it is not always pretty but it is needed because you can only portray a narrative that you were assigned for so long.
The feelings and emotions that we convey usually do not get addressed, but having those friendships that forward you that gives you unintended therapy sessions as well. Black girl magic will literally flow wherever it sees fit. From chilling at your homegirls house on a saturday night watching Waiting to Exhale to finally telling someone about the issues you are having in your personal life, it will always be there. I find this assuring because you can count on something or someone to be there, which is a skill that is neither learned nor inherited.
We can come together, history proves it! You remember shows like Girlfriends, Sister Sister or Living Single. They were such diverse characters that it also proves that no one can fit us in one box. We are just as amazing as the Maya Angelou’s, the Diana Ross’, the Ruby Dee’s or the Dorothy Height’s. If anything, we continue to look up to those women!
But with reference to the past, we still have to address past barriers that we continue to work on now.
One of the biggest barriers comes when knowing that your magic, beauty, culture and way of life will sometimes be mimicked, mocked and undermined. We have seen this happen before. From baby hairs, cornrows, locs and du rags on some of the world’s most expensive runways to ultimately being told your lips, hips and thighs are too much just to see them glorified on reality television. Yes, any woman can do what they want to do, however, black girl you are so much more than what society will try to offer you.
This rings even for our women and girls who never made it home. Sandra Bland, Rekia Boyd, Aiyana Jones, Tarika Wilson…the list goes on. We are still here making sure that your glow shines. It is important to keep in mind that this term, black girl magic is not exclusive but inclusive. We celebrate the lives, accomplishments, shortcomings, sadness, and joy that we all posses.
Our emotions and stories are relevant too.
You cannot just move on from a hurt that you have experienced, but you have to express that you are hurt. Or maybe you acted in a way that was out of character, forgive yourself and move on. You are worthy of self-compassion and forgiveness and you are worth the acknowledgment.
But most of all, you are magical.
Sister friends, from your kinky coils, to your long flowing weave, to the sway of your hips, to the way you slay a highlighted cheek bone, the your extra poppin’ brows all the way down to the way you are able to dance in those heels that hurt your feet. We see your magic and we understand that you wear many hats because you are multifaceted in every way. We see it in your degree, your career, the way you love everyone around you and even to the way that you remain optimistic despite of what is happening.
No, the term black girl magic is not to intentionally exclude anyone else, but it here to create a lane for us that otherwise never existed. Nonetheless, black girl you are strong, you are brilliant, you are beautiful and your black girl magic is shining from the inside out.