To the Darkskinned Black Girl

To the darkskinned black girl, You are compromised of honey, cacao, love, soul, and have been delicately, intricately, and selectively crafted by the very fingers of God himself. Like I'm serious, you are one of the wonders of the world You are a rhapsody of everything your ancestors ever wanted you to be. You are beautiful. You are black. This, is evident. This, is something that you cannot change. You can raise your voice ten octaves, spew five syllable words like it's nothing, kick it at Starbucks with Becky, Jane, and Brit but You are and always will be a black girl in America In this society You will always be the least favored The least desired In the words of the great Malcolm X, The least respected And the most disadvantaged You can straighten your kinks and coils and relax the texture from your hair, you can contour your broad and long nose into non-existence, douse yourself in hydroquinone, subconsciously attempt to erase your lineage, but your blackness Still remains a constant No matter what you do Or what you say Your skin carries itself within you. It paves the path for every journey you embark It decides your worthiness among your peers In your community The acceptance of this, is one thing you will struggle with It is up to you connotate the ebony that is you with beauty or ugly You may feel that in order to feel beautiful, having lighter skin, a thin nose, smaller lips, narrow hips is necessary You may be told that you are, "too black" or find out the guy that you fell for only likes lightskin girls. You may feel ostracized by the black man, the male reflection of yourself. You may feel as if you do not belong anywhere. I am here to tell you, darkskinned black girl, that you do. You have a purpose. You are the amalgamation of black beauty and royalty. You embody the blood, tears, and sweat of your ancestors and the pain they endured in every power ridden step that you take. Colorism is not your fault. This issue is not within you nor your black brothers or sisters. This issue is held within centuries of colonization, cattle slavery, and institutionalized racism. The issue of colorism and racism are embedded in the minds of many, and it is not your fault, darkskinned black girl. So when you look in the mirror, take pride in your broad nose. Even when you don't want to When everything around you is white Take pride in how moonlight reflects and bounces off of your skin, the satiny and indescribable feeling it has when it is touched. After all, you are everything they've ever wanted to be