Honey, It’s HER Story, Too!

Hello, February! For such a short month, you sure are busy. Birthdays. Anniversaries. Superbowl Sunday. Not to mention Valentine’s Day. And, then of course, there’s the month-long celebration of Black History! This month focuses a collective lens on African-American history, our lives, and contributions. Oh, how we thank you, Dr. Carter G. Woodson.

Growing up, I remember my first time seeing our cultural representation in a school book. I was in the sixth grade and the book was entitled Tradewinds. Of course that mention pertained to slavery and was a blip of a brief paragraph. Six years passed before I saw my history in a school book again. I was in my final year of high school and beyond thrilled to learn a Black Studies course was offered my senior year. I enrolled without delay. The only problem? So little material existed that the course lasted only one semester. And dare I tell you the class was taught by our gym teacher? Thankfully, he was the coolest brother on the block, and I devoured everything that one-semester class had to offer. Maybe that’s partially why I earned my B.A. in Black Studies. Because I was underrepresented. And hungry.

Fast forward a few decades and that hunger has morphed into the framework for my own literary creations. Without apology, I write stories centered not merely around African-American life, but Black WOMEN! We are the apex, the center of my narratives. It’s intentional, not accidental. In the words of a beloved girlfriend and avid, I write stories that uplift, affirm, and celebrate US “unapologetically and extravagantly.” Welcome to my stories, our HERstory.