After a long while she spoke very softly. “Is it true that I can have a baby now?” “Sure,” said Frieda drowsily. “Sure you can.” “But . . . how?” Her voice was hollow with wonder. “Oh,” said Frieda, “somebody has to love you.” “Oh.” There was a long pause in which Pecola and I […]
Tag: self-love
Love Me Like You Love Your Lover
Self-love is the foundation of our loving practice. Without it our efforts to love fail. Giving ourselves love we provide our inner being with the opportunity to have the unconditional love we may have always longed to receive from someone else. We can give ourselves the unconditional love that is the grounding for sustained acceptance […]
Chasing Time: A Reflection of Thanks(giving)
Time flies whether you are having fun or not. My childhood seemed to linger like thick molasses while my twenties flew by like short school days. Before I knew it I was post-30, highly educated, minimally motivated, hundreds of miles away from home but finally at home with myself. When I turned thirty I had […]
Throwback Thursday: Dear Patriarchy…
On this “Throwback Thursday,” I wanted to revisit one of Crunkista’s earlier posts–a kick-ass kiss-off letter to patriarchy. I think it’s eternal in relevance and general crunkness. Enjoy! ***************************************************************************************************************************** Dear Patriarchy, This isn’t working. We both know that it hasn’t been working for a very long time. It’s not you…no actually, it is […]
On the Queerness of Self Love
While conducting a seminar with college students about self-esteem, Yolo Akili heard a young person say something that remains an important touchstone for those of us trying to do liberatory work in our communities. When talking about loving oneself, a Black woman said, “Self love? That shit’s gay!” I’ve turned this statement over in my […]
How To Say No: The “B” side to Self-Care
(This post is in response to Life Is Not A Fairytale: Black Women and Depression, one of our earlier and most popular posts.) It took me years to unlearn the habit of saying yes automatically when someone asked me for (or to do) something. So often had that single syllable fallen from my tongue that I […]