I have been DEEP into COWBOY CARTER this week and let me tell you from first listen it blew me away – like socks knocked all the way off. 🧦🚀
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The way Beyoncé transcends genre is something worth studying. And I love how she doesn’t take for granted the fact that she’s highly regarded because the ways she innovates over and over again is bar none. She deserves EVERY accolade that will come her way. ⭐

And I’ve been replaying “PROTECTOR” over and over again, because ain’t it aligned with the inner child healing I was talking about last week? Whewww! 🧠 A genius. ✨ An icon. ❤️ I’m obsessed.
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And this leads me to…

RANT

People are so quick to humble Black women and I hate it.
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Beyoncé comes out with an album that centers COUNTRY music, and white men are on the internet mad AF because they thought their milquetoast forefathers came up with it when COUNTRY WAS BORN BLACK. 😤
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​Angel Reese, the Bayou Barbie, has been getting death threats for being confident, cocky and cute on the court. And then her peers are being told they have “class” which is deep dog whistle.
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​Amanda Seales had 3 major Black media outlets write pieces about her because they don’t deem her to be “nice.” And it’s been a month-long situation that kicked off because she said she’s been blacklisted by the industry. And they proved her point.
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People have an unhealthy obsession with humbling Black women and putting us in our place, and I’m sick of it. 🤮 It’s like the moment a Black woman starts to shine, starts to speak her truth, or even just dares to take up space, there’s always someone ready to knock her down a peg. 🤦🏾‍♀️

It’s wild to me how much people will use us as projections of their failure, and verbal target practice, when they feel like we’re self-assured. Because how dare we not shrink and how dare we know we are AMAZING at what we do and we are AMAZING human beings? It’s like it rubs people the wrong way and they gotta do what they can to make us feel bad about ourselves. 🤷🏾‍♀️
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We’re constantly being told to be more “humble,” as if being proud of who we are and what we’ve accomplished is somehow a sin. While Black women are expected to be meek and mild, other groups are celebrated for their confidence and assertiveness. It’s a slap in the face, and it needs to stop.🙅🏾‍♀️
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We are not here to be tamed or silenced. We will not apologize for being bold, for speaking our minds, for demanding what we deserve. We are unapologetically Black, unapologetically women, and unapologetically powerful. And y’all will just have to deal. 💪🏾😎

REFLECTION

We need to know who we are defenders for.
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​The world can be so harsh, especially to people on margins. And for Black women, who are often treated like the mules of the world, we get extra doses of smoke that don’t belong to us.
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It is why I am vehemently pro-US. Because often, we are all we got. 🛡️🤝🏾

This week, seeing Angel Reese’s teammate Flau’Jae Johnson defend her at a press conference did something good to my spirit. It was sisterhood in action.
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​To be defended, out loud, is to be shown deep love. ❤️
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​It’s why Beyoncé’s song PROTECTOR on Cowboy Carter made me cry when I listened to it the first time. And lowkey the 10 times after that. How many of us have felt UNPROTECTED in the face of attacks, and in this cold world? How many of us have looked around at some point and felt alone to fight our own battles? How many of us have felt abandoned in the silence of those around us? 🤔💭
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This is why we must ask ourselves: Who are we defenders for? Who do we stand in the gap for? Who do we make safer because of our presence?

What have we done when something around us is not right? Not just when personally faced with injustice but when we witness it. Do we choose to turn a blind eye, to stay silent, make that a “them” problem? To avoid rocking the boat. Why? It’ll blow over and then what? I’ll tell you…it’ll REPEAT itself. Lesson unlearned.
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We are too comfortable watching other people be mistreated and I don’t like that. We are so quick to say it ain’t our business but the smoke we ignored can quickly become our fire.
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​We need to disrupt. Step up. Speak out. REFUSE to let wrongdoing go unchallenged.

Flau’Jae is only 20 years old, and is already a fierce defender of her friend. She modeled that courage. We, at our big age, need to learn from her. And we need to ask ourselves the last time we lent someone our armor. 💪🏾🛡️
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Cuz let’s face it: if you aren’t anyone’s defender, who do you expect to? 🤔

RECOMMENDATION

Take Teri Ijeoma’s Trade and Travel Challenge.
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​Speaking of being defenders, in today’s uncertain times, having financial security is crucial for protecting ourselves and our loved ones against unexpected emergencies and hardships. As April is Financial Literacy Month, I have one thing I want us to do: make more money so we can have Freedom Funds. To start breaking free from financial constraints and creating opportunities for ourselves and future generations. That is economic justice. 💰💪🏾
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One of my favorite finance voices is Teri Ijeoma, who built her wealth from scratch trading, and is now a millionaire because of it. If there’s one thing we’ve learned from moments of solidarity and defense, it’s the power of taking action. Teri has been telling us that the market is at an ALL TIME HIGH and on an absolute run, so this is going to be a great time for us to learn to trade. And she just launched a perfect plan for us to learn this April, the Take Your First Trade Challenge. 🪙⬆️

That’s why I’m excited to invite you to join Teri Ijeoma for the Take Your First Trade Challenge LIVE. In this, she’s inviting people to embark on a five-day journey into investing, and I hope one of those participants will be you! Learn to buy and sell your first stock while gaining insights from Teri and experts (including my girl Tiffany “The Budgetnista” Aliche and Rachel Rodgers) to overcome investing barriers. These sessions will run nightly from April 15 – 19, 7-9 pm CT.

[button style=’blue’ url=’http://tradeandtravel.com/live?rootabl=luvvie’ target=’_blank’ icon=’entypo-direction’]JOIN the Take Your First Trade Challenge[/button]
So if you’re ready to take action, to seize control of your financial future, and to embark on a journey of empowerment, I urge you to click the button above and check out Teri Ijeoma’s Trade and Travel Program. It’s time to defend your dreams and make them a reality. 🙏🏾
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Tell me. When was the last time you were a defender, witnessed a defender or were defended?

​Disclaimer: I receive commissions for purchases made through some of the links in this newsletter. All thoughts and vouching are mine. I keep it 💯!