For two years, Jai “stalked” Sistership Circle, as she called it. Then one day she decided she would be the change. She would be the one to make it “safe” for women of color to be in Sistership Circle.
Jai has made a fierce stand to be the bridge for women of all nationalities and ethnicities to come together in sisterhood. It’s so inspiring to watch her rise into her power and claim her divine purpose.
When she asked if it was ok to hold the first Step into Circle program for women of color only, I was a hell yes.
Why?
It’s the same as when women have asked why we don’t have mixed gender circles.
First, women need to be in a safe space where they can be their full self-expression without worrying what men will think. We can create mixed gender circles after that.
Women of color have historically felt unsafe in white spaces and need their own space where they can be their full self-expression without worrying what white women will think.
It’s not perpetuating separation.
It’s the first step to healing.
Jai is yelling from the rooftops now, and I feel it is worth every woman hearing, regardless of color, because we are all in this together.
Here’s what Jai wrote:
⭕️⭕️⭕️⭕️⭕️⭕️⭕️⭕️⭕️⭕️
Is it OK for me to say that I am an angry black woman?
Repeated micro-aggressions.
Side eyed comments on a regular basis.
People wanting to touch my hair and call it “soft.”
Yep, this is the world we live in as black women.
Dehumanized.
Treated less than.
We develop thick skin, but also some anger and trust issues.
In 2019, in Montgomery County, Maryland, Councilman-at-Large Wil Jawando spearheaded legislation to ensure the protection of the county’s students and staff that wear their hair naturally.
I have never heard of any other group of women that need protection under the law to not be discriminated against for wearing their hair naturally.
My colleagues wear various colors in their hair, and some wear ponytails everyday. No one raises an eyebrow.
This takes me back to a time historically when people of color needed permission to do ANYTHING.
It is 2020 and we are still fighting that battle. I am thankful for men like Wil, whose wife (an attorney for a Fortune 500 company) and three daughters all wear their hair naturally.
But I wonder … why did a Black man have to take up this fight for women of color??
Is it because there are wounds between women of color, so the movement could not get any momentum because we can’t take a stand unified together?
Is it because a Black woman would not have been taken seriously?
It’s sad but true: if a woman of color had led this charge, she would have been written off as “the angry black woman.”
Which just makes me both sad and angry.
NO ONE should tell you how you “need to look” to be considered competent or professional.
Well, at least I have Sistership Circle, where I can showing up exactly as I am and feel safe to be seen and heard.
I am committed to extending that safe space by creating “Step into Sistership for Women of Color.”
It is built upon the many experiences that we, the women of color, have undergone as we straddle the world of “whiteness” and standing tall in our “Blackness.”
In “Step into Sistership For Women of Color,” you will be safe and supported to talk about how you really feel in this white world which will support your empowerment to embrace the unapologetic and authentic YOU.
What we’re going to do when we circle up together:
- Talk about the microaggressions and how they build up to make you angry
- Embrace who you are and what you look like as a natural woman
- Claim your full self-expression and overcome all the judgments that hold you back
- Heal the sister wound with other women of color so together we are stronger
- Feel safe and supported to talk about how you truly feel in this white world
- Be empowered to stand in your power as “unapologetically black”
“Step into Sistership for Women of Color” will begin next week on June 1, 2020 and June 4, 2020.
To hold the closeness of a sacred space, each circle is limited to 10 participants.
Sistership Circle Facilitators are encouraged to sign-up for this experience to add this as one of the Sistership Circle programs that you can offer.
I want to know who YOU are, the women of color here in the Sistership Circle community, and see how this circle can serve you. It’s important that we connect so let’s chat, sister.
Schedule a call with me here:
>> https://calendly.com/
