This piece is a tribute piece to the Black women who have greatly helped me on my journey of becoming. I know myself because I know them, and because of them, I now have the confidence to be me and sprout into a glorious amaryllis. Throughout this piece, you will hear sentiments that have been hidden in my heart for years, mostly written in my native language, African American Vernacular English (AAVE). I encourage you to have fun while reading this and read it in a rhythm if you can.

Now, I unlock the chest of my heart to share these sacred sentiments with you all on this special time. As we exit Black History Month and enter Women’s History Month, here is “Blossoming from the Magical Roots of Divine Black Women.”

For so long, I didn’t know what I truly carried. Walking in the world not knowing who I was, what I had in me or how beautiful I was and am — it’s a dangerous place to be in, because others see it and will try to take it away. Those who loathe beauty will try to kill the seed, knowing it isn’t fully formed yet. Before you can transition into the flower you are or grow into the butterfly envisioned in God’s chrysalis, they’ll try to clip your wings in pure jealousy and envy. I walked in the world with bruised confidence. Others saw the greatness in me and the “magical divineness” I possess, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t see it myself. The dark souls in my life tried to downplay me and scar me with their abuse. Little did I know it was because I outshone them. My light was too bright for their darkness. But still, for years, I was blind to my own light. I couldn’t see my ethereal glory in the mirror, no matter how much I looked,

Then, I encountered women who were just like me, women who eventually became my mirror. They reflected the beauty and eccentricity that God knitted me with. These women taught me who I am, some without ever saying a word to me. Through seeing them, my self-image started to come together. I then began to see a powerful being — Cayla Dee — who was forming her walk in the world. She is perfection. She is brilliance. She is a GIANT. A DIVINE BLUE GIANT. And yes, she knows herself. But the pieces of her, the pieces once broken, are still beautifully forming. 

The intelligence I hold

I didn’t know what my brain held ‘til I saw CHRISTINE DARDEN, KATHERINE JOHNSON, MARY JACKSON  and DOROTHY VAUGHAN. They all were cut from the same Southern cloth as me. They had a powerful brain like mine that could solve equations for days, our hands moving at the speed of lightning to solve those equations through the night, our faith locked in our hearts. By getting the opportunity to use those equations to take man beyond the Earth, they taught me to stand up and fight for what I believe in. They were the first pieces I saw of myself.

The words echoing within me

I kept silent for years not knowing how powerful my words were ‘til I read NTOZAKE SHANGE’S words. She wrote just like me, and it transformed me. Slowly, I began speaking up, mirroring her powerful writing. Because of her, I learned to fight with the beauty of my words. She trained me into a warrior. My weapon is the double-edge pen she gifted me, and I now write my own stories. The second piece I saw of myself.

The image reflecting me

I felt so outside of myself for so long, completely lost in the wind ‘til I saw MAE C. JEMISON. When I saw Mae, I saw me. She was close to the same complexion as me; I fly in the same skin she’s in. She had a similar smile and hair texture as well as a heart that held my hopes and dreams. We danced down the hallways of our white school where we were the amaryllises in a garden full of weeds. Many around us admired our beauty and talents. The third piece I saw of myself. 

The personality God planted within

I didn’t love my personality ‘til I saw ISSA RAE that day. “I’m walking the same footsteps as you, queen,” I told her. Go ‘head nowww. Issa is in Hollywood, doing big things, but she started as an awkward Black girl like me. I was ashamed of my awkwardness for a long time, but I didn’t know that it was the very place where I’d find the magic… my magic. People made me feel INSECURE ‘bout my light, and I hid my personality for so long as if it was somethin’ to be ashamed of. But then Issa rocked my world, slowly destroying the notions they implanted within me. I then started to show my personality like a social butterfly comin’ out of hiding. Powerful. The fourth piece I saw of myself.

The spirit dwelling within me

I didn’t know who I flew like ‘til I saw JOSEPHINE BAKER. Josephine is a daring beauty like me, with a heart of gold filled with the love of God. We have similar childbearing hips and spun down the streets of France the same way. She found the path to the Eiffel Tower, and I now climb it with joy. She was broken but still believed, and I now stand on her shoulders. She carved a place for me in Paris and was the mother to an unconventional family called the “Rainbow Tribe.” Because of her, one day I’ll have my own tribe. Je t’adore, and I’ll be flying in the Paris winds just like you, Mrs. Josephine. The fifth piece I saw of myself. 

The voice I carry within

I didn’t know what I sounded like ‘til I heard NINA SIMONE. Nina bore a unique voice in the wind; we might as well have been kin. We came from the same country roads down there in North Carolina, just a few distances away. She came first, and oh, you best believe she paved a great way. A sound so different ‘taught me I didn’t have to sing traditionally like everyone else. I can use the sound God gave me and become LEGENDARY. Thank you, Miss Nina. From Nina Simone to Cayla Dee Simone, us Southern Black women are out here shinin’. The sixth piece I saw of myself.

The eyes that sparkle like mine

I didn’t know how beautiful my eyes were ‘til I saw LOGAN BROWNING. They told me my eyes were crazy. They were contacts. Costumes. They said Black girls can’t have light eyes. Comin’ up to me, looking me in the face, invading my personal space. “Woah, are those your real eyes?” I got it since I was a child, making me feel uneasy. But Logan Browning proudly repping her God-given eye color with her beautiful ‘fro taught me to rep mine as well in any space I’m in. Because of Logan, I now understand that my eyes are beautiful and unique. The last piece I saw of myself. 

Through all these women, the pieces of myself started to form. No, I didn’t come from a strong family lineage of women who could tell me ‘bout myself and who God made me to be. But seeing these women gave me the answer. I am quirky, talented, loved, gifted beyond measure, an artist and a genius rocket scientist. And now, I dance in this White man’s world, singin’: 

I’m Blossoming from some strong Black girl roots.

I’m standing on some Black girls giants’ shoulders.

I’m walking in the way my girls paved for me.

I was birthed from them.

I was born for them…