A Letter to Brown Mamas...

Dear Brown Mama,

I see you.

I hear you. Even in your sad silence.

I feel your heart full of anxiety.

I understand your fears.

I know all too well the sound of your muffled tears.

Crying in the dark so nobody questions your strength,

Pasting on a smile as you tell your Black babies,

"Everything is okay"

It's not okay.

It's not okay for our children to grow up in a world where they will be feared for no reason but the melanin in their skin.

It's not okay to worry about the future of your growing baby in your belly.

....or the fact that more of US die during childbirth than other races.

It is not okay to have to google demographics of neighborhoods or schools or states before visiting, house hunting, or applying for jobs.

It is not okay to have to warn your child about wearing a hoodie before they go out in their own neighborhood.

It is not okay to have to teach your children their own history because it's not taught in schools.

It is not okay to have to explain the difference between your child and one of their non-Black friends

"...See Cam, they might be able to get away with doing that, but you won't"

None of it is okay.

We are not okay.

What is okay is that at the end of the day,

We are united.

We are strong.

We always. Always. Find a way.

Dear Brown Mama,

don't give up.