Raising Black Queens - What if a Black Girl Knew?

I came across this poem by the beautiful and talented @dylema.gram and it spoke to me so much that I wanted to create this image of my black daughters to it. The words are so powerful. The truth behind it is so mesmerizing that It made me reflect on the life that I am creating for my daughters. It’s so important to teach black kids so much about life and the hardship they may face but in the midst of it, teach them to love themselves. Teach them to stand in their light, and to never let anyone not even mom or dad dim their light no matter what. These are my daughters. Melanin is rich in its many tones.

We live in a society where we put fairer skin over darker tone skin and as much as that is unfortunate I teach my daughters that they are equal. I teach them to stick up for one another, uplift each other, care for one another and genuinely be by each other's side. They are differences in my daughters which makes them unique in their own right and they learn a lot from each other for it. Maddie is brown and has thicker coarse curly hair and Leila is dark brown and has looser curly hair. One of my worries as a mother was how outside influences will make them perceive each other. I quickly realized that it was up to me to embrace their differences (not that I didn’t before) and have them see and feel their differences and learn from one another to show that they are equal and to not let words like “the darker one” or “your hair is not pretty” affect them. They are made by me and my husband and perfectly created by God.

Let me know in the comments below if you are raising black girls? What are some lessons you teach them?