Hey Reader,
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I need to celebrate some things that blew my mind this week. I recorded the audiobook for "Little Troublemaker Defends Her Name" (coming out May 6th!), completed writing my next Little Troublemaker book (my SIXTH total), and I'm already working on my seventh! 🤯
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It also blew my mind to be in the room this week at ESSENCE Black Women in Hollywood. I've been attending this event since 2012, and it's one of my favorites.

Looking around and seeing so many dope women in one place and celebrating the incredible ways they are making strides in the entertainment industry is an inspiration. It's proof of what happens when you follow your divine assignment. That voice inside won't let you rest until you've done what you were called to do.
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Now, let's jump into what's on my mind this week.

RANT

Let's talk about rage and light.
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​One thing I'm feeling in my bones right now: deep, guttural rage. And alongside it, glimpses of powerful light. This duality is what we carry as Black women. Don't let NOBODY make you placate your rage today, this week or any day over the next four years. Don't let anybody convince you that this anger doesn't have space. 😤
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Right now? All I have is RAGE for this country that continues to show itself exactly who we've known it to be.
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And what triggered it this week? MSNBC cancelling Joy-Ann Reid's show "The Reid Out." Just like that. With a quickness that was both shocking and unsurprising.

Joy-Ann Reid was that beacon of truth in primetime television. The ONLY Black woman hosting a primetime show on a major network, and they just decided she needed to go. In THIS political climate? NOW? When we need her voice more than ever? The audacity. 🤦🏾‍♀️
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Yet even in the midst of this rage, there was still light. Win With Black Women came together once again on Sunday to make a plan to hold Joy up on her last broadcast Monday night. We shared that plan online, and it was amazing to see people watching her and shouting her out. She got a standing ovation at ESSENCE Black Women in Hollywood.
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The light in all of this is we are being shown that when the chips are down, we will show up for each other. When they try to dim one light, we all burn brighter.
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​Holding the light doesn't mean bypassing grief or swallowing rage. It means seeing clearly THROUGH the darkness. Staying grounded when the ground shakes. Knowing that beyond this moment is something new we can't yet see. 🕯️

Your rage is righteous. Let it breathe. Feel it. Express it. Don't let anyone toxic positivity it away. This anger was made for such a time as this. When you're done raging? That's when we'll talk about what's next. But today? We make room for the fury. ❤️‍🩹
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Because one thing about Black women? We've been here before. We know how to protect ourselves from fire. How to build amid chaos. How to hold both rage and vision simultaneously. It's in our DNA.
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Watch us work. But this time? We're working for US first. 👊🏾
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REFLECTION

Use your rage as fuel for your divine disruption.
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​While sitting in my rage about Joy Reid, I'm thinking about how anger isn't just an emotion to be managed. It's fuel. It's energy. It's a driving force that, when channeled correctly, becomes the very thing that creates necessary disruption. 🔥
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Look around. Medicare and Medicaid being cut. A literal golden statue of Mango Mussolini in a video about making Gaza a tourist destination. The systematic silencing of truth-tellers. Not being enraged by all this would be the truly insane response. Our rage is the sane reaction to an insane world.​
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The world doesn't change when we play nice and stay quiet. It changes when people get angry enough to disrupt what is unacceptable. History shifts when righteous rage becomes righteous action.

My friend Kailei Carr once told me: "That vision God gave you? There's no way you can fail unless you never do it." What if God also gave you that rage? What if that burning in your chest whenever you witness injustice isn't just anger but divine assignment?
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When we channel rage into collective power, we become unstoppable. We don't just break the rules of a game never designed for us to win, we change the game entirely. We turn over tables. We build new tables. We decide we don't even need tables. 💥
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Reader, what if your rage is the spark meant to light the path for others? What if that fire is exactly what this cold world needs right now? What if disruption isn't just your divine assignment but our collective responsibility? 🔥

So yes, in this moment, let's get pissed. Let's stay pissed. But let's transform that rage into undeniable power. Let's make calls. Let's fund campaigns. Let's support each other. Let's vote. Let's write. Let's create. Let's disrupt with purpose. As political activist Wael Ghonim says - the power of the people is greater than the people in power.
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Because the world doesn't change when we play nice and stay quiet. It changes when we have the courage to be as angry as the moment demands and turn that anger into action. Your purpose is calling. The world needs that righteous rage only you can bring. So bring it. 🚀

RECOMMENDATION

Channel your rage with my Professional Troublemaker Playlist.

In the spirit of the economic boycott happening today (thank you for showing up for that!), I'm not recommending anything for you to buy.

Instead, I want to offer something free that has been helping me channel both my rage and my light: my Professional Troublemaker Playlist. 🎧
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Music has always been medicine for me. The right song can validate your feelings, amplify your power, or give voice to emotions you couldn't find words for. And in times like these, when rage sits heavy in our chests and we're looking for ways to transform it into action, sometimes the perfect track is exactly what we need. 💪🏾
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My Professional Troublemaker Playlist is curated specifically for those moments when you need to tap into your inner disruptor. These songs have carried me through writing sessions, speaking engagements, and yes, moments of pure rage when I needed to remember my purpose.

One of the songs you know is on there? Knuck If You Buck. Download this playlist to give you courage, hype you up and gas you up.
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You can find my Professional Troublemaker Playlist on Spotify. No purchase necessary. Just press play and let it fuel your divine disruption. 🎵

What song has given you the courage to speak up when you wanted to stay silent? Or what's your personal "about to disrupt something" anthem? Hit reply and let me know!
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To light and disruption,