mommy

her words.

"it’s not despite where you come from, it’s because of where you come from. it’s not that i’m successful even though i am a black woman, it’s that my blackness and womanhood have driven me to become who i am. i was raised in cabrini green, the place people from the south side didn’t even want to go to. the place where my friends’ parents said they could never go for a playdate. people looked at me differently because of where i grew up, said that i wouldn’t do well because of the people around me. but that didn’t phase me. because i knew the people around and my neighborhood helped make me who i am. does that make sense? you can be successful because of all the hardships you’ve been through. because you live on the block that no one goes to. because you had no money. because there was no one to love you. because your brown skin made them judge you differently. but when you have no money you learn how to make a dollar outta 59 cents. when there is no one to love you, you learn to love yourself. because your brown skin makes them judge you, you learn how to step into a room and command respect. and you are uniquely you because of your experiences. do you understand that? so many of our children think they can’t. they can’t because of x. they can’t because of y. and who is telling you all otherwise? no one."

you are mommy. i wish you knew how special you are.

my words.

"you all have no idea how special you are. the futures you will have and the lives you will impact. people will always be there to doubt you, to say that success is not probable because of where you come from...but someone once told me that it’s not despite where you come from or who you are, it’s because of where you come from and who you are. let me break that down for you the same way my momma broke it down for me. you can be successful because of all the hardships you’ve been through, because you had no money, because there was no one to love you, because your brown skin made them judge you differently. but when you had no money you learn how to make a dollar outta 59 cents. when there was no one to love you, you learned to love yourself. because your brown skin makes them judge you, you learn how to step into a room and command respect. you all are uniquely you because of the experiences you have. does that make sense? i didn’t grow up the same way y’all are, but my parents did. my mom did, my dad did. and they pushed me to not forget where we as a family came from, and that’s why i am here pushing you all, because your roots will always be a part of you. i want to leave you with one thing to think about today: so many of us already think we can’t just because of who we are and where we come from. imagine if we were to start telling our people they could. Imagine the change we could have. someone urged me to do it, and now i'm pushing you to do the same."

i miss you mommy. just like she pushed me and so many others like you.

my baby's words.

"my young friends, you can be happy because of all the things you’ve been through, because you had no piggy bank, because there was no one to give you hugs, because your chocolate skin made them ignore you on the playground. but when you have no piggy bank you learn how to turn two dimes into a nickel. when there is no one to give you hugs, you learn to hug yourself. when your chocolate skin makes them ignore you, you learn how to climb the monkey bars and make them listen! you are you because of the things you’ve lived through. do you understand that, mr. snuggles? mommy, thats what grandma used to tell you right?"

close enough baby, close enough.