Black Girl Magic: Emmys Edition

I've always loves award shows because I think it's so inspiring to see people being awarded for their work. I love seeing people so proud of themselves and their peers. It's even more special when there a beautiful women who look like me. Beautiful shades of gorgeous brown skin, amazing women making history. So many women supporting each other. Looking beautiful on the red carpet and basking in excellence! May all the Black Girl Magic from that night continue to inspire us.

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The hugs felt around the world

 Viola Davis and her incredible acceptance speech

“'In my mind, I see a line. And over that line, I see green fields and lovely flowers and beautiful white women with their arms stretched out to me, over that line. But I can’t see to get there no how. I can’t seem to get over that line.’

That was Harriet Tubman in the 1800s. And let me tell you something: The only thing that separates women of color from anyone else is opportunity. You cannot win an Emmy for roles that are simply not there. So here’s to all the writers, the awesome people that are Ben Sherwood, Paul Lee, Peter Nowalk, Shonda Rhimes, people who have redefined what it means to be beautiful, to be sexy, to be a leading woman, to be black. And to the Taraji P. Hensons, the Kerry Washingtons, the Halle Berrys, the Nicole Beharies, the Meagan Goods, to Gabrielle Union: Thank you for taking us over that line. Thank you to the Television Academy. Thank you.”

♥

Regina King's win and speech

Uzo Aduba's win and speech

And of course, the red carpet

 I hope that we continue to see more and more black girl magic. At award shows, in television and movies, in books, and anywhere and everywhere else!

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"The only thing that separates women of color from anyone else is opportunity." 

-Viola Davis

Quote of the day:

 

Born and Made

Carol's Daughter and I Am That Girl have joined forces to create the #BornandMade campaign to empower women and inspire them to celebrate who they are and the person they feel they were always meant to be. I saw a few of the pictures people made in support of the campaign and I fell in love! Especially since I am Karol's daughter and this campaign was created by the company Carol's Daughters. I love it! You can make them at BornandMade.com.

I chose the word hope because I think it describes me quite well. I even have the word "hope" tattooed on my body. Hope to me is the promise of a beautiful tomorrow. I believe in a lot of things and I think that's why this word means so much to me. There's a lot of strength and courage in believing in yourself. To me, hope looks and feels like not giving up. Like my tattoo, it's a reminder that despite the circumstances, I'm going to keep on soaring.

I hope this campaign inspires even more women to celebrate themselves.
Be true to the person you see in the mirror. Love them. Learn more about them, their desires and passions. Work with them to create a more beautiful tomorrow. Take it one day at a time!

brown girl dreaming

Brown Girl Dreaming 

by Jacqueline Woodson

I really enjoyed this book! Jacqueline Woodson tells her childhood stories through free verse. It's so motivating and so inspirational. From the very beginning, brown girl dreaming perfectly captures the complicated beauty and strength and complexity of familial ties and the stories that come along with them. My absolute favorite part of reading this was feeling the determination of this young girl. This was a true reminder that we can achieve our childhood dreams. We all have the ability to follow our dreams to the best of our abilities despite our age, despite any family objections, and despite any perceived unlikeliness, our dreams are worth chasing. 

I also love that these childhood experiences and these stories are filled with so much perspective. I think that we all have our own way of viewing the world because we're all shaped by our own personal stories and experiences but there are similarities that bring us together and help us relate with complete strangers. Even though I wasn't a young girl growing up in Greenville, South Carolina in 1963 or in Bushwick in 1969, these stories still resonate with me. 

Just like in life, there are moments throughout her childhood that make us think our personal experiences and relationships with family, love, doubt, friendships, music, community/neighborhoods, birth, death, and so much more. It really was a great read. 

Recommended for

• all brown girls ready to chase a dream 
• all readers, especially middle schoolers
• anyone looking for stories about moving 
• City girls
• Southern girls
• people who love to write
•  People who believe in themselves, are learning to believe in themselves, want to learn how to believe in themselves. 
• Anyone who is a big fan of reading stories about people living through history/historical moments
• anyone who has ever thought that they were a little different but believed in themselves anyway

____
 
Favorite Parts & Quotes 

"You'll face in your life someday,
my mother will tell us
over and over again.
A moment when you walk into a room and 
no one there is like you." 


"Even the silence
has a story to tell you.
Just listen. Listen."


"The revolution is always going to be happening.
I want to write this down, that the revolution is like
a merry go round, history is always being made somewhere. 
And maybe for a short time,
we're apart of that history. And then the ride stops
and our turn is over[...]
My name is Jacqueline Woodson
and I am ready for the ride."


"I believe in one day and someday and this
perfect moment called Now."

 
"When there are many worlds, love can wrap itself 
around you, say, Don't cry. Say, You are as good as anyone
Say, Keep remembering me. And you know, even as the world explodes
around you--that you are loved..." 

-Jacqueline Woodson

Thank you, Jacqueline Woodson, for your beautiful words!  

Inspirational Sources May Vary

 As I sit here watching MasterChef and I think about how much I love competition shows like this. This one is only one of my favorites. I'm also a big fan of Top Chef, Project Runway, Chopped, Great Food Truck Race, and so many others. I love television programs that showcase people working so hard to achieve or gain better access to their life goals and dreams. I think these shows are so inspirational. They can be such a big source of motivation as well. A lot of times, we see people drop so much to go to where these shows are filmed and stay there for weeks at a time because they so strongly believe in following their dreams. It's perfect example of putting "faith over fear." 

I think we should aspire to chase our dreams. In a perfect world, wouldn't it be great if we were all able to drop everything to chase our dreams. In a perfect world, we probably wouldn't have anything standing in our way. Unfortunately, we don't live in a perfect world. However, there is so much beauty in the process of baby steps and slowly turning our dreams into reality. Sometimes beautiful and amazing things take time. We cannot make things happen overnight, but we cannot let the size of our dreams deter us from taking that first brave step.

So I watch these shows because I think it's so cool to see hard work turn into something beautiful and see people proud of what they've made. It's cool to watch people overcome failures and work through losses and challenges. They're people like us. We can identify with their stories and they motivate us to chase our own dreams. It's all very cool!