Black woman magic

#blackgirlmagic is a social media sensation. The problem is I am not a girl and have not been for awhile. I want my daughter and her friends to be #blackgirlmagic. I want them to embody the beauty, passion and possibility that comes with the power of a hashtag. But I want my fellow women to embrace #blackwomanmagic or even better #blackphenomenalwoman. You know why? Because many of us have fought and bled our way to our own individual and collective womanhood. We have experienced childhood and puberty and now we are here. We have arrived. And we are more than just a hashtag, we are a goddamn reckoning.

I do not want to be a girl because that means that I can still be silenced, ignored and even worse rendered invisible. Black women have fit into those boxes for far too long. We are also not the ones to carry the burdens of our people. The S on our chest is out to lunch and we are reclaiming what is ours. Our time, our bodies, our love, and our righteous minds. #blackphenomenalwoman We are no longer and never have been an angry black woman. We do have healthy relationships with other women and we are not filled up with bitterness and hate. Because we are women, not girls.

Now some of us are still trying to find our way to #blackwomanmagic and even more of us are entering #blackphenomenalwoman. So please do not relegate our power to a hashtag especially one that implies that I have not even reached puberty. Now some will say well you are missing the point of #blackgirlmagic. Am I? I do know that from the time our bodies entered the slave ship and even when we were working as domestics, we were referred to as “girl” and that meant that somehow we were not adults and that we needed guidance or parenting or even worse we just simply needed to be controlled. So I am shouting and screaming that I rock out with #blackphenomenalwoman because that is what I am.

So attention all Black women! Turn to your sister and yourself and say, I am a powerful and spiritual being filled with love and passion. It pours from our fingertips for everyone and we are a source of constant energy for each other. Why? Because of #blackwomanmagic and #blackphenomenalwoman Leave the #blackgirlmagic for the youth who are striving to survive this world with us backing them and loving them every step of the way. And remember womanhood is earned and should never be forgotten or misnamed.