Hey Reader!

We're getting a week's worth of news in a single day right now and it's A LOT. 😩

Every time I check my phone, there's another headline that makes me wanna wall slide. And we may or may not be seeing the start of World War III with Iran and Israel. DIS TEW MUCH! And it’s Friday the 13th?!? Uh uh. The vibes are VERY OFF. But let's talk about what's been on my mind this week. 👇🏾

RANT

Miss me with the "how did we not see this coming" narrative.

I’m seeing way too many people on Blue Ivy’s internet talmbout how they didn’t see all this chaos coming. And it’s blowing my mind. Some headline had the AUDACITY to ask "How did we fail to see all this?" and let me tell you something right now: WE?!?!?!?!

WHO IS THIS "WE" YOU SPEAK OF?! 👀

Because BLACK FOLKS have been screaming from the rooftops about this since 2016. Hell, since way before that! We've been pointing at the playbook, reading the room, and flat-out TELLING Y'ALL what was coming down the pipeline. 📢

Shoot, Kamala told folks over and over again when she was on the campaign trail. THERE IS A DOCUMENT CALLED PROJECT 2025 THAT OUTLINES ALL OF THESE PLANS!!! Which part of any of this is surprising, goofies??

There are more armed forces in LA now than there were in Iraq. The senior U.S. Senator from California (Alex Padilla) got tackled and handcuffed at a press conference with one of Habanero Hitler’s puppet people for the crime of... asking why the government was attacking its own people. A SENATOR. Getting manhandled. For defending the Constitution and doing his JOB.

But sure, tell me more about how "nobody could have predicted this." 😒

Folks got EXACTLY what they voted for. Not just the policies, but the chaos. Not just the rhetoric, but the violence that inevitably follows when people can't defend their ideas in actual conversation so they resort to rubber bullets, fists and handcuffs instead.

So miss me with that "we" business. WE knew. WE warned y'all. WE been preparing for this exact moment.

The question isn't "how did we not see this coming?" The question is: Why didn't you listen when we told you it was already here? 😒😒😒

REFLECTION

To move forward, we have to be better teammates to each other.

We're losing because we don't know how to be on the same team. 😭

I gotta say that people on the Left suck at working together. It shows up online when folks tear each other apart because they disagree on semantics or said something off, while the actual opposition builds power. I'm watching us demand perfection from our allies while giving grace to our enemies.

I think about how Republicans move. They'll disagree behind closed doors, but when it's time to vote, when it's time to show up, when it's time to defend each other publicly? They lock arms. Even when they can't stand each other personally. And they’ve taken that to the other extreme, where they do not ever hold each other accountable. But their RELENTLESS loyalty to their mission is why we have the government we have. They have been locked in with each other on this plan for DECADES. And they saw it through.

Meanwhile, we'll throw our own people under the bus for making a single mistake. We'll end careers over allegations while they elect felons. We'll demand our representatives be perfect while theirs can literally do anything and keep their jobs. 🙄

We'll give a whole redemption arc to some random white person who says they're "learning to do better" but tear apart our own people for not being radical enough fast enough. 😒

I've watched brilliant activists completely retreat because our own people ate them alive the first time they made a mistake. Folks playing Purist Olympics and losing EVERYTHING as a result. While the other side squads up to make sure their agenda comes to life.

You can't build a movement by yourself. You can't create change by canceling everyone who doesn't move exactly like you. You can't win by being the only person left standing after you've eliminated everyone who wasn't perfect enough. 🤷🏾‍♀️

We're so busy trying to be morally pure that we're practically useless. Purity doesn't win elections. Purity doesn't pass legislation. Purity doesn't protect people.

When someone on our side makes a mistake, we correct them privately before we drag them publicly. When someone's learning curve looks different than ours, we teach instead of tear down. When someone disagrees with our strategy, we debate the ideas, not destroy the person. 💯

Liberals have been shitty teammates and that is something we need to recognize. And it has led to our downfall.

Teamwork isn't about agreeing on everything. It's about agreeing on the mission and then protecting each other while we figure out the details.

The goal isn't to be right. The goal is to be effective. And you can't be effective when you're fighting a two-front war against your opposition AND your own team.

I'm not saying we accept mediocrity or stop holding each other accountable. I'm saying we learn the difference between accountability and annihilation.

Because here's what I know for sure: the people who want to destroy us are counting on us to destroy each other first. Don't give them that satisfaction. 😤

The revolution needs all of us. Messy, imperfect, still-figuring-it-out us.

And that starts with being better teammates to each other. 🙏🏾
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RECOMMENDATION

Read MATRIARCH by Tina Knowles.

There are some books that hit you different. Books that feel like a love offering, like you're sitting at the feet of someone who's walked the path and lived to tell about it. MATRIARCH by Ms. Tina Knowles is absolutely one of those books. 📚

I devoured this book over three days and I was ENRAPTURED. 🥹 The vulnerability, the grace, the way this woman opens up the book of her life and lets us learn from every single page? It's breathtaking.

This isn't just another celebrity memoir. This is a masterclass in resilience, in reinvention, in what it means to be a woman who refuses to be boxed in. From girl to woman to wife to mother to businesswoman to freedom finder, Ms. Tina's journey is a testimony that will have you highlighting passages and texting your friends. ✨

This book deserves every accolade it gets (and probably some it won't). When a woman gets to tell her own story, in her own words, on her own terms? That's revolutionary. That's the kind of storytelling that changes how we see ourselves and what's possible. 💪🏾

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So go grab this book. Clear your weekend. Make some tea. And let Ms. Tina remind you what grace under pressure actually looks like.

Have y'all read MATRIARCH yet? What books are teaching you something about resilience right now? 👀

With love and purpose,
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P.S. Y'ALL! My custom keychain came in the mail this week and I am OBSESSED! 🥹

Seeing my name spelled out correctly, in all its glory, on something I can carry every day? Pure joy. After decades of never finding "Luvvie" on those spinning keychain racks, this feels like a full circle moment. If you want that same feeling for yourself (or someone you love), grab your own custom keychain here. Trust me, it hits different when it's YOUR name. ✨

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