[This is the first poem I've ever posted on this blog. I've always found that my opinions and views on black issues are well-expressed in the form of poetry, because defiance--and nearly all my thoughts in this department are defiant--is an art. For this blog, I've stuck to prose because it allows me to put more words on the page, but poetry is a fount of feelings, and my feelings here are strong.

I am tired of defending myself from the negative space that the combination of my race and gender subjects me to. I am tired of having to prove that I am a good "black girl", before others can slap me with the bad "black girl" label. I am tired of the "black girl" label being a bad thing at all. So here's my definition of black girl, whispered defiantly to those who disagree, spoken triumphantly to those who understand, and written straight from the heart.]