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By Emily-Rose Njonde
Posted on January 14, 2022
Dear little Black girl, I would hug you if I could
Because I know it’s hard
It’s hard
When you are constantly in places
Surrounded by faces
Unlike your own
So far from home
It’s hard
To want to be you,
When the whole world is telling you not to
To feel out of place when you should belong
To feel your friends glance at you in “that part” of a song
You are not alone, Black girl
But you need to love you
Love yourself Black girl, because few people will do it for you
If you are puzzled as to how
I will read to you now,
A step-by-step guide to
Loving your guise
One,
Take it in
Admire it
The depths of your complexion
The beauty in your reflection
The texture of your skin
The length of your chin
Two,
Curate
Carefully select the content you check
From the books you read, to the internet
Be inspired by people who look like you
Consume what was made for your point of view
You cannot compare to standards
Made to shame your forefathers
Three,
Feel,
I know,
Black girl,
It’s easy to build a wall,
Find a hole in which to crawl,
Cry in silence,
Laugh when faced with violence
Your pain is not a joke,
It is very real
Only some know how this feels
Feel it
Feel it all,
The good, the bad and even worse
Loving yourself takes dedication and work
Four
Be you
Look around Black girl,
The world is full of people trying to copy others
Be you
Whatever that means
Do whatever you want to, because you can
Life is to short to constantly live in shame
Over something you can’t change
Five
Feel pride
In what your skin means and what you can achieve
Six
Desire distinction
Seven
You can’t hate yourself better
So love you
Because it’s all you have
Eight
Skin deep.
You hate it, because you think that if you were white
You wouldn’t hate your life
And you’d have more friends, more likely to fit in
But the reality is,
The world we’re in, specializes in manufacturing
Insecurities for beings of all races, colors and creeds
You’d find different things to hate
If it weren’t for your race
Nine
Loving yourself is a choice
You cannot control the world, but you can control you
Do not let them tell you how to feel about your skin,
Or your lips
Or your hair
Ten
Forever
Forever you will be in this body
Forever you will have this skin
Love your skin, Black girl, because
Forever this is what you will live in
