Oh, to be a Black woman. What a beautiful, complex, and powerful existence. To be born into a lineage of resilience, grace, and undeniable influence is both a privilege and a responsibility. We are the rhythm in the music, the fire in the movement, the magic in the ordinary. We carry history in our laughter and future in our dreams. But, what does it mean to truly be a Black woman?Â
The Beauty of Our ExistenceÂ
Black womanhood is art. Our skin glows when kissed by the sun, our hair dances in the wind, and our smiles can brighten an entire room. Our melanated skin is a testament to the resilience we carry; the strength to show up and prove ourselves, day after day. It’s in the way our hair defies gravity, each strand telling a story that traces back to our roots, our traditions, and our self-love. Our voices hold power; they can command a room in protest, in poetry, in meetings, or classrooms. Our beauty isn’t just in our features, but in our very essence. We carry a softness the world too often overlooks—a tenderness that nurtures communities and births revolutions. We are both the storm and the calm that follows.
The Strength We InheritÂ
To be a Black woman is to be tested and tried, yet never broken. We are daughters of women who persisted and defied the odds. They channeled their pain into poetry, resilience, and made opportunities out of it. We have carried burdens that weren’t meant for us to carry, but we never gave up when it got heavy—we still stand tall. We are underestimated and over-examined, labeled too much or not enough, but still, we rise. We are our grandmothers’ wildest dreams, and our ancestors’ answered prayers.Â
The Softness We Deserve
For so long, the world has demanded our strength without offering us rest. But oh, to be a Black woman is also to be soft, to be delicate, to be loved loudly, not just behind hashtags like #blackgirlmagic or #blacklivesmatter. We are learning to unlearn the idea that we must always be strong. We aren’t given enough room to mess up, cry, or feel our emotions. Sometimes it feels like we have to hold it together for the world, then cry later. All eyes are always on us. But that stops today.Â
We are allowed to heal. To take up space. To choose ease over exhaustion. We don’t always have to break our backs. We deserve peace as well, to prioritize ourselves the way we have always prioritized others. To exist in joy without justification.Â
The Legacy We BuildÂ
Every time we show up as our authentic selves, we reshape history. Whether we are breaking barriers in politics, academia, or other male-dominate fields, we are proof that Black womanhood is a force to be reckoned with. We are the trendsetters, culture shapers, and movement makers. We get stuff done. We don’t just exist, we impact.Â
This isn’t a poem. It’s a message to every Black woman who is trying, every single day, to be seen. You are seen. You are heard. To be a Black woman isn’t always easy, but it is magic, wisdom, and wonder. It is to be an answered prayer and a walking revolution. It is to become everything they said we couldn’t be, and then some.
It is an honor to be a Black woman.