Confessions of a Safe Black Friend: "Am I White or am I Black? What kind of question is that?"

March 17, 2022 in Reflections

“Are you white or are you black?” The question made me feel trapped. Yvonna had offered me two doors and two doors only. She looked me in the eyes, hands on her hips, awaiting my answer.

Confessions of a Safe Black Friend: My First Time

January 07, 2021 in Reflections

Do I hold a grudge against an elementary-school-aged boy whose name I can’t even remember? Of course not. Because at the end of the day, what left the strongest impression on me wasn’t even the words that he said. It was how he said them. His self-assuredness chipped away at my own sense of security. His boldness made me feel intimidated. His aggression made me retreat.

Confessions of a Safe Black Friend: Prologue

January 01, 2021 in Reflections

Confessions is my way of trying to shake off my old habits of appeasing white friends and peers. It is my way of liberating myself to become a more authentic version of myself. I’m sitting on my bed in Boston ready to post this, the beginning of a story, my story, the story of a black woman who is done being safe.