Dear Only Black Girl At Work,
I wish I was there in person to give you a proper “Happy Black Panther Week” greeting.
Anywho – are you still eating leftover gluten-free Valentine’s Day office candy?
It’s been a minute since we’ve last talked. Whatchu been up to?
Life for me these days has been a constant state of deflecting, pretending the “president” is not the president, mourning the loss of my edges because I just can’t stay away from box braids, and wondering if companies will ever realize that being the only black woman at work can not only feel isolating but be overwhelming. Just do what I used to do before I founded my own company: close my eyes and cherish the last time that I was not the Only Black Girl At Work. Or the next time you walk into a meeting alone in a room full of white men, just imagine that, Shuri, warrior princess, is right alongside you.
I get it. Sometimes you just wanna leave mid-meeting and run to the nearest exit.
Let’s take a quick little break from your not-so-great-could-be-better-work-environment and talk about Black Panther. Are you excited? Do you plan on seeing it this weekend? What are you wearing? Their red carpet looks intimidated me, so I’m just gonna wear all black and maybe experiment with my braids. I know, for sure, I can’t wear any under-eye makeup because I’m gonna cry and cry and cry at all the beautiful blackness. Are you the type that’s like, everybody relax, it’s just a movie – because that’s fine too. (I guess lol)
I’m just so excited. I’ve never seen this display of blackness in film screen that isn’t centered around American Black Trauma. Honestly, I’m kinda overwhelmed. I feel like I’m just going to be a different person. I’ll let you in on a little secret. I feel this way any time I get a dose of blackness via film & tv. I binged the new version of She’s Gotta Have It and Being Mary Jane at the same time and my confidence game out in the real world was intense.
{PAUSE – REAL WORLD THING THAT JUST HAPPENED}
My friend, Nova co-founder and business partner, Tiffany, just shared this song with me and now we’re listening to it at our headquarters because – well, we can. TAKE A LISTEN while you read the rest of this.
{OK we’re black, I mean, we’re back}
Plus, let’s be real, you only got a few more minutes to have this blog post up before your manager steps behind you to “check-in.”
So yeah, I’m excited that everyone is so excited. We’ve waited so many months for this. Even though we have a few hours to go and there’s technically still time for the president to mess it up and get us blown to smithereens, let’s enjoy these happy feelings.
I hope Black Panther is everything that you expected it to be. I hope that you are surrounded by love and pride. I’m excited to share this moment in history with you.
Let’s get ready to walk into work Monday like:
Just remember that no matter what the work days ahead filled with cultural solitude hold, you are a magical force, a powerful addition to any team, and your future is bright.
