Inside This 58th Edition:
- YAS! | DBW Meets Cyntoia Brown!
- Events | Affirmation Circle 27. Ann Arbor. RSVP Here.
- A Word | Our Bawdies.
- Affirmations | Marinate In These.
- DBW Speaks | Affirmation Letter for the Week.
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DBW Meets Cyntoia Brown in NYC!!!
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Due to our outpouring of support** for Cyntoia Brown (featured in Newsletter #49, remember?), Cyntoia's team extended a special invitation for Dear Black Women to meet her in Harlem earlier this week. Cyntoia shared that the letters moved her, which was everything. To support her transition beyond incarceration, purchase her new book, Free Cyntoia.
One of the many things we loved about Cyntoia's story is how she reminds us that there are many nameless Black women who are wrongfully incarcerated.
So, here are 11 ways you can support other incarcerated Black women.
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**Special Shout Outs to DBWs**:
Amber, Michigan | Artesha | Betty Machette | Chayla | Christian, Michigan | DaChana, Michigan | Dawn Hawkins, Indiana | Desirae | Elena Simpkins | Elisabeth, Michigan | Fehintola, California | Flo, Errywhere | Johanne, New York | Kerri | Lauren Birks, Texas | Natajah | Nikole Vargas, Michigan | Ontonette, Washington DC | Quamesha, Nebraska | Shanice | Shirley, Connecticut
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Too Light. Too Dark. Too Short. Too Tall. Too Thick. Too Small. Stretch Marks. Big Scars. Freckles. Pimples. Lines. Dimples. Flat Belly. Fat Belly. Big Feet. Crooked Teeth.
Any of this sound familiar? Welcome to the club. It's so easy to criticize and compare our bodies. Multi-billion dollar industries literally bank on it.
But for the next 5 minutes, let's quiet that noise and make a pact, shall we? Let's hold off on all body judgement and, instead, revel in the beauty that our bodies already offer.
To help with that, in Newsletter #58, we celebrate of the "Love Your Body Day" (yup, that's an actual thing and we're here for it), with 4 things to help you go from "I wish my body was [insert some foolishness]" to "I thank my bawdy for [insert some gratitude]."
Let's go.
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Dear Black Women is building the largest collection of Black women affirmations in the worrrllllddd. (Mama, we got dreams.) Since DBW's start, Black women from around the globe have submitted affirmations to us. This simple act of self-affirmation has fueled our movement.
Today, we share the bawdy-affirming words of Dear Black Women El Noel, Karla, Kamaria, Kirby Gwen & Lauren.
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1. Marinate in these Bawdy Affirmations.
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2. Read this Bawdy-Affirming Affirmation Letter.
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by Karla, Dear Black Woman
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"Thank you for giving yourself permission to love every curve on your body and every curl on your head.
You are stunning and you are valued here. I choose you today, and I will keep choosing you today, because you are worth all the love. Even if others miss it, you are fully loved, known, and seen here." (More affirmation from DBW Karla...)
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3. Dare to Write Your Own Bawdy Affirmations.
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Now, it's your turn. What's a message you would like to share with your body? Words of gratitude, congratulations, encouragement?
Dare to put aside the-always-gon-be-there-never-ending to do list. And take 2 minutes to affirm you and that bawwwwdy.
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Reconnect with your bawdy, because there's a lot going on in the world. And Lawd knows it's easy to get so overwhelmed that you hold your breath or take too many shallow breaths. So, we invite you to focus on your exhale and inhale for 10 breaths. Right now.
Yup, you.
Just 10 breaths. Why? Our breath can help center us and give us the energy we need to thrive. So, let's go. Breathe in. Breathe out. Breathe in. Breathe...
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In affirmation of you and Black women everywhere,
The Dear Black Women Movement
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