First things first, I'm Blackity Black Black

It’s officially Black History Month! And as we celebrate & commemorate Black history this February (no matter what anyone says), I’m making it a point to use every platform available to me—including this newsletter—to talk about the incredible power of Black people, & especially Black women.

So let’s talk about Blackness. My Blackness, that is. See, I’m “mixed”—my dad is Bajan & moved from Barbados to the U.S. when he was 12. My mom is Jewish, both in religious practice & with Ashkenazi roots in Germany, Poland, & Lithuania. In fact, I was raised Jewish, attending Hebrew school twice a week after-school & bat-mitzvahed at the age of 12. In synagogue, my blackness was ever-present, seeing as I was 1 of maybe 4 Black congregants (not including my siblings).

Yet, growing up in Brockton, Massachusetts—a city with a significant Cape Verdean immigrant population—I was constantly mistaken for Cape Verdean or Latina; anything but what I actually am: a beautiful blend of Caribbean gyal and Ashkenazi Jew.

My Blackness & my Jewish identity were only further questioned when I went to college at a supposedly "nonsectarian university with Jewish roots", where I found myself caught between worlds: never quite fitting in with the Black kids, never quite fitting in with the Jewish kids, realizing quickly that there was a wide range of diversity among each group. Nevertheless, there was always a frustrating in-between-ness within that left me feeling lost and unseen.

It wasn’t until the last half of undergrad that I started to truly claim & find power in my Blackness: in contributing to, continuing, & archiving the legacy of Ebony Axis (a campus literary magazine for Black women founded by LaShawn Simmons). And even more so a year or so after graduating: in co-founding Sapphire Hues.

I’ve been conjuring my Black Girl Magic ever since, casting spells of self-love & creative confidence & relaying these incantations every change I get.

And in doing so, I discovered something I once thought profound, but have since learned is intersectionality in full effect: Blackness isn't monolithic. Blackness is a vast & vibrant tapestry, a kaleidoscope of experiences and perspectives from across the diaspora that defies easy definition.

My Blackness? It’s something I'm fiercely proud of, not despite, but because of its complexities.

This discovery—of embracing my multifaceted identity & recognizing the vast diversity of Blackness—has profoundly shaped my creative work. It fuels my poetry, affects how I approach my place & impact in the nonprofit space, & amplifies my desire to uplift Black voices.

That’s why, this week, I’ve chosen to share a poem that speaks to the heart of what it means to be a Black woman, to embrace your Black Girl Magic, and to find your power in the face of adversity.— You ready?