Hey Reader,

Beyoncé was in Chicago last weekend. We cut UP in that Honey Pit and A TIME WAS HADDDDD!!! 🥰🥰🥰 And I loved sharing it with some of my fave people including 2 of my nieces who got to go to their first ever concert 😭. I fear that I have ruined all other concerts for them because... how do you follow BEYONCÉ?

Now I gotta go book another massage. My knees still hurt 😅

But yeah, let's talk about what's been pissing me off this week. 👇🏾

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RANT

Leave Angel Reese ALONE.

I am sick and tired of watching racist fans terrorize Black women in the WNBA while the league does absolutely nothing about it. 😡

The Indiana Fever really played jungle sounds during a nationally televised game against the Chicago Sky when Angel Reese was at the line shooting two free throws? After Caitlin had a hard foul on Angel? And then Dave Portnoy’s raggedy behind (the CEO of Barstool Sports, who has dedicated a ridiculous amount of time harassing Angel on his shows and on social) showed up court side for that game to shout at Angel AND THEN went on his shows and social defending Caitlin and continuing to mock Angel this week?

WE ARE NOT DOING THIS. 😡

Angel Reese has been getting terrorized by racist trolls since she had the audacity to celebrate beating Caitlin Clark in that LSU-Iowa 2023 NCAA championship game. Since then, these folks have been absolutely feral, sending death threats to a young Black woman whose only crime was... being confident? Being excellent? Being Black and unapologetic about it? 🗣️

And where is the WNBA's "No Space for Hate" campaign when Angel needs it most? Where is the protection for the players who BUILT this league while being underpaid and underappreciated?

The energy in the WNBA right now is completely unacceptable. These new fans brought their racism with them and now Black players are paying the price. Angel deserves to feel SAFE playing the game she loves, not dodge slurs and harassment every time she steps on the court.

​I wrote about this more extensively on my blog this week because this situation requires more than a quick social media post. Black women BUILT the WNBA. The absolute LEAST this league can do is protect us. Do something tangible. Make it real. Because enough is enough. 😩

We gon protect our niece at ALL costs, but she shouldn't have to endure this trash in the first place.

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REFLECTION

When your own people pile on, that cuts the deepest.

Robert Griffin III, former NFL player, “sports analyst” and Uncle Ruckus wannabe tweeted after that game that Angel Reese hates Caitlin Clark and poured gas on a situation that was already out of control. He added fuel to the hate she doesn't deserve. 💔

If we're already getting hate from the world, we don't need it from Black men too.

But then actual sports analyst and thoughtful Black man, Ryan Clark, stood up on his podcast. He defended Angel loudly and publicly. He stood ten toes down for Black women when we needed it most (and RGIII has been crashing out ever since, btw).

One of the things we’re recognizing is how much the algorithms of social media prioritize negative content and hate. Because of this, we often see the content of the misogynists and racists and that creates all types of wars online, gender wars, race wars. Ryan Clark’s voice cutting through the noise was really heartening to remind us that in a sea of hate, a voice of support really does matter.

To be defended loudly is a form of love. And when your own people choose to tear you down instead? That cuts the deepest.

This isn't just about Angel or about sports. This is about a pattern I've been watching for too long. One that RGIII epitomizes: the folks who are trying to prove something to white people so they throw their own people under the bus, not recognizing that their performance will never earn them the protection of caucacity.

I have seen way too many Black men take to the internet and publicly diminish Black women, using us as targets of their ire. But we aren’t their biggest predators. We are actually their biggest defenders.

And we’re seeing it as famous Black men are posting “Free TORY” to support the man the shot Meg Thee Stallion.

Atrocious. Disgusting.

I am married to a Black man who makes me feel safe and cherished. So I'm not painting all Black men with this brush. So not ALL men but too many. I am grateful for the Black men who do stand with us. Who defend us out loud. Who understand that protecting Black women is a form of ministry.

Soooo what do we need? We need the thoughtful men to continue to speak up to drown out some of the loudness of the degenerates. We need to continue to be defended.

And as I sat at a Chicago Sky game yesterday, where I watched Angel Reese play the worst game of her career, it let me further know that Black women are tired of taking proverbial bullets. We know how to carry the weight most times, but sometimes the bullets pierce us.

We deserve to be cared for. We deserve to be defended. We deserve to be given grace.

Give yourself permission to be tired of taking bullets for everyone else.

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RECOMMENDATION

Drop everything and watch FOREVER on Netflix. Right now.

After everything I just shared about protection and safe spaces for Black women, watching this show reminded me what it looks like when Black women are cherished. I didn't know my spirit needed this soft, chaotic, layered young love like this! 😭

And listen, I need Mara Brock Akil to come to the floor!!! 🗣️ Because WHY IS FOREVER SO GOOD AND WHY DOES SHE NOT MISS EVER ON AMAZING STORYTELLING?!?!?

Based on Judy Blume's book, this show follows two teenage athletes in 2018 LA navigating first love while their families push them toward college scholarships. And baby, the LAYERS. The parental realness? Chef's kiss. 🤌🏾 The father-son relationship with Wood Harris at his absolute best? I'm not okay. The stunning visuals, the care in every scene, and then the AMAZING chemistry between my namesake Lovie Simone and Michael Cera Jr.?!?

Everything is good. EVERYTHING.

This takes me back to the heyday of 90s television when shows had heart and weren't afraid to sit in the messiness of real relationships. I have missed this type of storytelling so much. 🥹

When I tell you I binged this in one sitting and immediately went searching for season 2 info... they better not keep us waiting too long because I'M OBSESSED.

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So tell me: Have you watched Forever yet? 👀 What did you think? Because we need to talk about it immediately. What else are you watching that is filling you up right now?

Until next week,

P.S. Earlier this week, I sent y'all an email about custom keychains and WOW - we've sold hundreds already! 🙌🏾 If you haven't gotten yours yet, head to my shop - your name deserves to be celebrated too! 💫