"You will fall. You will veer off path. You will hurt. Then, you will rise."

Written by A Dear Black Woman

“You will fall. You will veer off path. You will hurt. Then, you will rise. You will run. You will finish.”

Dear Black Woman:

Don’t give in. I hear these h*es trying to tell you that you aren’t special—that you’re less than. But you can’t give in. You are special. I know you know it. I know you can feel it. I see how meek you are when it comes to owning your skills and talents, the way you’re hesitant to boast expertise, or even claim a moderate level of enlightenment in an area, for fear of others challenging your intellect based on race. The truth is you’re right: a lot of folks are making assumptions. It feels shameful to say it, but you make these assumptions, too. I’m not blaming you, boo; the architects of this society have literally spent centuries building up pillars of self-loathing and doubt in the minds of people like you, but it’s time for those walls to come tumbling down. It’s time. You tear down those structures of oppression by fighting those self-deprecating thoughts. You fight! Every day. Every minute. Every second. 

I need to remind you, my love: giving in is a choice. Dimming that light within you is a choice, and doing so causes everyone to suffer in darkness. You are not capable in spite of your blackness, but in part, because of your blackness. You have been equipped, my love. You’ve got what it takes. You have the intellect, the drive, and the vision to see this shit through. It’s in you! You have been prepared for this success, and you are just as prepared to fail. So be not discouraged when it happens, bih; it was all part of the plan. You will fall. You will veer off path. You will hurt. Then, you will rise. You will run. You will finish.