WHAT IF I AM A BLACK WOMAN?

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To my sisters, this is a reminder of what makes us beautiful. To my brothers, this is a reminder that your love of us isn’t futile, it’s been earned… and then some

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WHAT IF I AM A BLACK WOMAN?
IS IT A DISEASE?

WELL, IF IT IS, I SURE HOPE IT’S CATCHING
BECAUSE THEY NEED TO POUR IT INTO A BOTTLE,
LABEL IT, AND SPRINKLE IT
ALL OVER THE PEOPLE~ MEN AND WOMEN~WHO
EVER LOVED OR CRIED, WORKED OR DIED
FOR ANY ONE OF US.
SO… WHAT IF I AM A BLACK WOMAN?
IS IT A CRIME? ARREST ME! BECAUSE I’M STRONG, BUT I’M GENTLE.
I’M SMART, BUT I’M LEARNING, I’M LOVING, BUT I’M HATEFUL.
AND I LIKE TO WORK BECAUSE I LIKE TO EAT AND FEED AND CLOTHE
AND HOUSE ME, MINE, AND YOURS AND EVERYBODYS,
LIKE I’VE BEEN DOING FOR THE PAST
300 YEARS.

WHAT IF I AM A BLACK WOMAN?
IS IT INSANE? COMMITT ME!
BECAUSE I WANT THE HAPPINESS,
NOT TEARS; TRUTHS, NOT
LIES; PLEASURE NOT PAIN;
SUNSHINE, NOT RAIN;
A MAN, NOT A CHILD!

WHAT IF I AM A BLACK WOMAN?
IS IT A SIN? PRAY FOR ME! AND PRAY FOR YOU TOO, IF YOU DON’T LIKE WOMEN OF COLOR BECAUSE WE ARE… MIDNIGHT BLACK, CHESTNUT BROWN, HONEY BRONZED, CHOCOLATE COVERED, COCOA DIPPED, BIGGED LIPPED, BIG HIPPED, BIG BREASTED, AND BEAUTIFUL ALL AT THE SAME TIME! SO… WHAT IF I AM A BLACK WOMAN?
DOES IT BOTHER YOU THAT MUCH BECAUSE
I WANT A MAN WHO WANTS ME… LOVES ME AND TRUSTS ME, AND RESPECTS ME
AND GIVES ME EVERYTHING BECAUSE I
GIVE HIM EVERYTHING BACK, PLUS!

WHAT IF I AM A BLACK WOMAN?
I’VE GOT RIGHTS, SAME AS YOU!
I HAVE WORKED FOR THEM, DIED FOR THEM, LIED FOR THEM, PLAYED AND LAID
FOR THEM, ON EVERY PLANTATION FROM ALABAMA TO BOSTON AND BACK!

WHAT IF I AM A BLACK WOMAN?
I LOVE ME, AND I WANT YOU TO LOVE ME TOO, BUT I AM, AS I’VE ALWAYS
BEEN, NEAR YOU, CLOSE TO YOU, BESIDE YOU, STRONG, GIVING, LOVING,

FOR OVER 300 YEARS,
YOUR BLACK WOMAN… LOVE ME!

Aja Monet

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Born in New York City to parents of Cuban and Jamaican descent and raised in the Brooklyn neighborhood of East New York, Aja Monet Bacquie began writing poems when she was eight or nine years old. 

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At 19, Monet became the youngest winner of Nuyorican Poets Café’s Grand Slam. She later earned her Bachelor of Arts from Sarah Lawrence College and MFA in Creative Writing from the School of the Art Institute in Chicago. Not long after graduation, she published two chapbooks: The Black Unicorn Sings (2010) and Inner-City Cyborgs and Ciphers (2014). Both were later released as e-books. Monet also co-edited and arranged the spoken-word collection Chorus: A Literary Mixtape (2012) with Saul Williams and writer and actress Dufflyn Lammers.

Monet has performed spoken word in France (she lived, briefly, in Paris), England, Belgium, Bermuda, and Cuba. During her visit to Cuba, Monet connected with her extended family there—relatives from whom her U.S.-based family had become estranged after Monet’s grandmother fled the island. In 2018, Monet released her first full-length poetry collection, My Mother Was a Freedom Fighter, dedicated to women of the Black diaspora and mothers. The book was nominated for an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work in Poetry.

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The collection includes her best-known poem #sayhername, a dedication to the Black female victims of police brutality often overlooked by news media and activists. Inspiration for the poem came after an event at which Monet read a poem that expressed her solidarity with the struggle of Palestinians. Eve Ensler, who was in attendance, invited Monet to contribute a poem to the #SayHerName vigil. Monet joined Ensler, legal scholar Kimberlé Crenshaw, and others on May 20, 2015, in New York’s Union Square to remember Black women and girls murdered by police.

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Monet, who lives in Little Haiti, Miami, co-founded Smoke Signals Studio in Miami—an arts collective dedicated to music, art, and community organizing. She also manages the poetry workshop Voices: Poetry for the People and organized its first annual Maroon Poetry Festival in the Liberty City section of Miami.

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And for many, she is performance poetry’s reigning “cool girl.” Aja Monet is a surrealist blues poet, storyteller, and organizer. Everyone knows Aja Monet, and everyone wants to be (just a little bit) Aja Monet. Her work is as eclectic and thoughtful as she is, and her voice is one you could listen to forever.

Sonya Renee Taylor

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Spoken word poetry has had varying levels of mainstream popularity over the past fifteen years. If you were like me, in the early 2000s, you stayed up anxiously on Friday nights to watch Mos Def host a new episode of Def Poetry Jam on HBO. HBO’s showcase of performance poetry was so successful that it led to Def Poetry on Broadway and created legitimate stars of spoken word poets.

Since then, performance poetry has continued to be an important art form for people who have something to say, want to say it beautifully, and want to ensure others hear them. There are multiple national and international poetry slam competitions all around the world, consistently drawing in audiences and new writer-performers of all ages and backgrounds.

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With its popularity, I think it is easy for people to forget the historical roots of the spoken word and its importance within Black communities and other communities of color. Whether or not a poem is specifically centered around social justice themes or political activism, the simple act of a person sharing their stories and lived experiences makes it empowering and powerful.

And as Black Women, we need to tell our own stories just as much as anyone.

Sonya is a former National and International poetry slam champion from the Bay Area. She is the author of two books, including The Body is Not an Apology: The Power of Radical Self-Love (Berrett-Koehler Feb 2018), educator and thought leader who has enlightened and inspired organizations, audiences, and individuals from board rooms to prisons, universities to homeless shelters, elementary schools to some of the biggest stages in the world.

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Sonya’s work has been seen, heard, and read on HBO, BET, MTV, TV One, NPR, PBS, CNN, Oxygen Network, The New York Times, New York Magazine, MSNBC.com, Today.com, Huffington Post, USA Today, Vogue Australia, Shape.com, Ms. Magazine and many more. She is a regular collaborator and artist with organizations such as Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Advocates for Youth 1in3 Campaign, Association for Size Diversity and Health, Binge Eating Disorders Association (BEDA), Greater than AIDS Campaign, Yerba Buena Cultural Art Center, and numerous others. 

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In 2011, Sonya founded The Body is Not An Apology, as an online community to cultivate radical self-love and body empowerment. TBINAA quickly became a movement and leading framework for the budding body positivity movement. In 2015, The Body is Not an Apology developed a digital magazine, education, and community building platform to connect global issues of radical self-love and intersectional social justice. Today, TBINAA is a digital media enterprise reaching nearly 1 million people per month from over 140 countries.

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Sonya continues to tour globally sharing lectures, workshops and performances focused on radical self-love, social justice, and personal and global transformation. Her work is full of honesty and vulnerability, while also exuding confidence and empowerment. When she performs, her words and her presence often explode off of the stage. 

Hair Colors That Scream Summer 2022

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With the imminence of hot weather right around the corner, you’re likely swapping for cooler sheets and breezy clothes. You’re preoccupied with the important changes that will make summer not only easier, but bearable. The last thing you’re probably debating is a big hair change. In 2022, we get that a big hair change isn’t going to solve your problems; we’ve evolved past that as a society (or at least, once we all hit the mid-20s). But that’s precisely how these trending summer hair colors were developed. They’re subtle, chill, and very “that girl.”

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Beyond a low-maintenance haircut, a new take on your hair color can make you feel like you just stepped onto a runway… even if you’re just commuting to the office in the morning. If you’re lusting after a new look (or just want to see what all the hype is about), these hair colors will give you hella inspiration at your next salon appointment. 

1. “Expensive Blonde”

We discussed “expensive brunette” heavily in the winter and early spring, but this summer, it’s coming around again for the blondes. What is “expensive blonde,” you ask? Unlike the icy, platinum blondes and balayage that have us in a chokehold all of the 2010s, expensive blonde is all about a blonde that looks truly natural and subtle. It usually contains a lot of really fine highlights throughout that add dimension in a soft way. It’s typically more on the neutral to golden side, which is a sharp shift from the white blondes we all were partial to years ago. Blonde is getting a refresh, and I, for one, am stoked about it.

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2. Ginger

In 2022, everyone’s going red (us included!). You’ll be hard-pressed to find a celeb who hasn’t taken it for a test drive. Kendall Jenner, Sydney Sweeney, Zendaya, SZA—it’s everywhere. Luckily, there are tons of different red tones you can try depending on your skin tone and your current hair color. Blondes can make the easy shift to strawberry (like Sweeney did), while a brunette can add extra warmth and brightness with a cherry red or copper.

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3. Mushroom Brown

In summer, we usually look forward to golden, sunshine tones in our hair. But in 2022, the grungier, the better—even in our hair color. Mushroom brown isn’t the first wave of a ’90s hair color revival (we mean, “expensive brunette” was practically made by the ’90s supermodel), but it nods in a very different direction than we’ve seen previously. It’s grungy and lived-in, thanks to those cool, grey tones. It’s perfect for someone who’s looking for a color they can easily transition to fall and winter instead of having to change up their hair tone once the seasons change.

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4. Rose Gold

If there’s any color trend getting us excited right now, it’s rose gold. While it’s bright and different from your usual blonde-brunette-redhead, it still somehow looks natural and subtle when paired with a shadow root. If there’s anyone who can show us how chic it is, it’s Hailey Bieber, who just rocked this color on the cover of Allure this spring. 

5. Buttery Blonde

https://www.instagram.com/p/CS2XVIjF67h/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

Golden tones of blonde have been swirling around the last couple of years (largely thanks to the influencer, Matilda Djerf), but “buttery blonde” is a fresh take. It’s a bit darker than the blonde we’re used to, and it has lots of dimension through lowlights instead of highlights. This warm color somehow always looks natural and might even make people believe you were born blonde (we won’t tell anyone the truth!). 

6. Chocolate Caramel

A warm, caramel brunette dream doesn’t get any more summertime. It’s like you drenched your hair in honey. You can go for a balayage to keep this low-maintenance or bring the brightness up to your roots to frame your face. Issa Rae has tons of extra dimensions in her curls that make this hair color look extra glam. To get a similar look, ask your hairstylist for lots of babylights throughout.

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7. Warm Brown

For brunettes who don’t want to add lightness but are looking for a change for summer, you can’t go wrong with adding a touch of warmth to a chocolate brown shade. This looks like your hair just got a natural boost from being in the sunshine, and it’ll pair beautifully with all the bright summer clothes in your wardrobe (per Selena Gomez’s bright green above). 

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And what’s even better, you might be able to get this at home with an at-home toner or hair gloss to save a little money. 

8. Y2K Highlights

For the early adopters, this trend is about to blow up in a major way, so now’s the time to prepare yourself. The early aughts are in everything beauty, fashion, and pop culture (hi, Bennifer!), so it was only time we started nodding in that direction for hair color. If you’re worried this will make you look like you’re 13 again, trust us: hair colorists in 2022 aren’t about making you look like you just stepped out of a middle school dance. Instead, they’ll add bigger highlights throughout your hair up to the root. Think of it like you dumped a whole bottle of Sun-In on your hair—that’s the vibe.

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