The excerpt beneath is from Alencia Johnson’s new e book, “Flip The Tables: The On a regular basis Disrupter’s Information.“
“Lady! I’m uninterested in doing all of the issues, the strain of the world,” I exhaled throughout a catch-up with my good friend Jess. We have been sharing life objectives, which for me was an opportunity to launch the exhausting strain of attaining and getting off that hamster wheel. “Overlook this boss life!”
“That would truly be a complete e book for you,” she replied. “Wait, what?”
“You’re sort of Black lady objectives. So that you can open up about how that isn’t absolutely serving you’ll be groundbreaking for therefore many people,” she responded.
She noticed me, she obtained me.
She freed me.
Let’s clear up one factor—there’s nothing incorrect with Black lady magic. It encompasses the distinctive resilience, creativity, fortitude, energy, and wonder that Black ladies have. Our skill to make one thing out of nothing. To excel at a number of issues on the identical time.
Created by DC native CaShawn Thompson, the phrase is inherently ours—Black ladies, that’s. It describes our distinctive existence and the methods we magically transfer by means of the world. Thompson has stated the idea got here to her as a toddler understanding womanhood. “I grew up in a household of girls—not solely ladies, however the ladies (after all, as we all the time are) have been the movers and shakers of my household. What I knew of womanhood and girlhood was Black, and the work that I noticed them do, to me, at 4 or 5 years previous—I believed it was magic, as a result of that was my level of reference. I used to be an enormous fan of the fairy tales that my mom would learn to us, so after I would see the ladies of my household in motion, doing on a regular basis issues, I actually thought we have been magic.” (Newton, 2020)
Her description jogs my memory of Afrofuturism and the way our existence alone, our birthright, and the way in which by which we transfer are really magical.
When Serena Williams was confronted with transphobic and misogynistic assaults in 2013, Thompson tweeted, “I don’t know what they’re speaking about, however Black ladies are magic.” It will definitely changed into a hashtag with out “are” due to Twitter’s character limits and took off.
A phenomenal descriptor that so many Black ladies, together with myself, embrace.
However as usually occurs, society has commodified (learn: commercialized and monetized) the time period, redefining one thing that was optimistic with adverse tropes. And now #blackgirlmagic has change into synonymous with the sturdy Black lady trope. A stereotype that robs Black ladies of their youth by means of adultification. That tells us our ache is nonexistent or legitimate. That we don’t deserve relaxation. That we must always be thankful for crumbs.
And for that, I’m drained. Black ladies usually are not right here to save lots of the world, to let go of the necessity to are likely to ourselves. To push towards success alone whereas ignoring our inherent proper to easily exist. To not harm or really feel ache.
Couple that with our uniquely marginalized expertise on the intersection of our Blackness (racism) and our womanhood (misogyny)—referred to as misogynoir—and we’re seen as superhuman, devoid of humanity, dealing with a barrage of systemic dangerous end result…
It’s clear that Black feminist frameworks have helped lots of people that don’t determine as Black ladies. And that’s effective. That’s what occurs once we heart marginalized experiences. I do, nonetheless, want individuals, in all of their gratitude and admiration for our magic, to cease asking us to save lots of the day—run for president, lead a company, et cetera—in establishments that don’t assist us. Nicely intentioned, but dangerous influence…
The societal strain from capitalism forcing us to labor and produce extra isn’t simply dangerous to ladies—the patriarchy doesn’t assist males, both. It tells them that bodily dominance, lack of emotion, and astronomical wealth make them worthy. It encourages males to disregard their feelings in favor of overcompensating at work…
Positive, I need to dwell comfortably with out worrying about funds and depart a legacy for my youngsters, their youngsters, and the causes I assist. Keep in mind Maslow’s Hierarchy of Wants? I need freedom, well being, safety, and wholeness above all.
Nonetheless, I gave myself the permission to outline the grind in another way for myself.
When society rewards attaining our desires quick (howdy, 30 Underneath 30 lists!) and profitable (hey, one that bought an organization for $500 million in simply 5 years), it subconsciously tells us that we aren’t profitable if we haven’t hit an expert milestone by a sure age or quantity. Couple that with the strain to change into married householders with children by thirty—whew! No surprise demise by suicide is rising amongst millennials, younger ladies, and Black individuals. (In 2023 and 2024, mortgage charges have been insanely excessive and economists agreed that for millennials and Gen Z, homeownership was not essentially the wisest alternative relying in your zip code.)…
Whereas life’s obligations and the inequities that pressure many individuals to dwell paycheck-to-paycheck may cause our plates to really feel full, there are nonetheless issues inside our management.
If our plate is all the time full, how will we’ve got the room for the surprising alternatives? The room to obtain. The room to indicate up for ourselves. The room for God to make use of us in new methods. I don’t need to be within the enterprise of lacking a blessing or the chance to be a blessing to another person as a result of I used to be too busy.
Too busy to be nonetheless. Too busy to listen to. Too busy for use.
Busyness is a entice. The busier we’re, the extra we run from ourselves and our function. Positive, there are high-pressure occasions that require us to indicate up nonstop. That’s life.
Nonetheless, I really like that the pandemic made us understand {that a} booked and busy way of life wasn’t serving us. We’d been equating booked and busy with success when it was simply burnout and unhealed trauma attempting to outlive below oppression and capitalism.
Everybody can take a break and quiet the noise of the world.
This relaxation disrupts grind tradition and tears down how capitalism has us sick and remoted—and I find it irresistible. Matter of truth, I used to be attempting to complete this chapter and felt myself dozing off. You already know what I did? Shut my laptop computer and went to mattress. You’re getting higher phrases from my contemporary mind now.
Excerpted from FLIP THE TABLES by Alencia Johnson. (Copyright 2025) Used with permission from Worthy Books, a division of Hachette E book Group, Inc.
