People who say “I don’t see color” annoy me (almost) as much as people who say “plays the race card.” The latter group is conveniently ignoring a few centuries of American history that led us to this point. And the first group is trying to shame you for being proud of who you are. For the same reasons I wouldn’t deny being short, in my early 40s or being a native Chicagoan, I will never deny being black nor being a woman.
I am a proud, black woman and no, I’m not going to just identify as an “American.” If I can claim a country, I can claim my skinfolk. If I can claim a city, I can claim a gender. If you have an issue with that, you’re going to spend a lot of time grumbling at this Substack series. I won’t apologize for it. I love my culture. I love how vocal my generation is. And I love people who knew what “woke” meant way back when Laurence “Dap” Fishburne was screaming it after the college school bell rang. (If you know, you know.)
How did this publication come about?
In June 2019, I received an email from The Well—a newsletter geared toward black women. One post stood out to me. There was a former Essence editor who was looking for content for black women on a Medium publication called ZORA. I didn’t know what ZORA nor Medium was, but I pitched my idea on facial recognition anyway. On Juneteenth 2019, that first post was published. I was a writer for Medium for the next four years, largely writing about race (and racism), culture, politics, social justice, workplaces, journalism and so on.
Why Substack?
I’ve written numerous online and print series since 2006. Some were with mainstream newspapers. Others were pretty well-known and lesser-known online news and lifestyle publications. Business decisions on my end were made, and I’m rebuilding. When I made the decision to start transitioning to Substack mid-2022, I knew I was losing a few thousand followers. Some have found me again on here, and I appreciate it. Whether I’m brand new to you or we’re reuniting again, let’s chat!
Amazon Affiliate
As an Amazon affiliate, I earn a percentage from purchases with my referral links. I know some consumers are choosing to boycott Amazon for its diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) removal, and I don’t blame you one bit. I have zero love for Target, but that happened long before the worst possible choice for president returned to the White House. However, after thinking about this thoroughly, I have chosen to continue on while trying my absolute best to promote small businesses, women-owned businesses and black-owned businesses who still feature their items on Amazon.
You’ll still see links on my post from ads I already agreed to showcase pre-presidential results that are not from any of these three groups. All of my posts as of February 1, 2025, the first day of Black History Month, will feature a minimum of one product from a black-owned business though. I have verified all websites and founders even after seeing that Amazon stamp above to confirm the owners. But if you are boycotting anti-DEI companies regardless, I respect that all the same.
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