We've lost a legend 💔
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#WednesdayWisdom
"As you enter positions of trust and power, dream a little before you think." — Toni Morrison
Morning Musings
This is not the newsletter I was going to write. It's not the newsletter I want to write. But it's the newsletter I must write.
On Monday, Aug. 5, the world lost a legend. The greatest living American author (perhaps the greatest of all time), Toni Morrison, died at the age of 88. And I, along with a legion of Black women and, specifically Black women writers, am heartbroken.
I got the text from my friend Chasity shortly after the news broke and damn near dropped my phone out of pure shock. It was a punch to the gut. I was in utter disbelief. This isn't happening, this isn't real.
I've never lived in a world where Toni doesn't exist and, to be honest, I'm not sure I want to. This one hurts. This one stings. This loss is both profound and personal...
A family lost a matriarch. The world has lost a legend. And Black women writers have lost an icon. There is simply no getting around this truth: there would be no me -- I would not exist as a writer -- if if hadn't been for Toni and Maya and the scores of Black women who came before me, who dared to dream that there thoughts, their words, their stories, their experiences were worth publishing.
Toni Morrison once said about writing: "It's where I have control. It's where nobody tells me what to do. It's where my imagination is fecund and I am really at my best. ... I'm thinking up dangerous, difficult things, but it is also extremely safe for me to be in that place."
And truly, I've never read a truer sentiment in my life. I feel her words in my soul because they ring true for me as well.
It's an impossible task, for me, to find the words to describe losing someone as monumental as Toni. Sure, I didn't *know* her, but I know her. I am her. And she is me. We are each other. She was for us. For Black women. Period.
Quite honestly, it sucks as a writer to be unable to find the words ... surely I should be able to craft some kind of eloquent tribute. But words don't, won't and cant' do her justice. And yet, they're all I have.
I've never been good at grief. Mourning is ... well, it's personal and it looks different for everybody. But what I can do is honor her legacy by continuing to write. By continuing to believe and dare to dream, like Toni, that my words are worth something. That I, as a Black woman, am worthy.
Thank you, Toni, thank you. I hope to make you proud.
Love,
L'Oreal
ICYMI
In my latest for HelloGiggles, I write about the challenging reality of trying to get pregnant and what I wish someone had told me before embarking on this journey.
If you know a friend who's struggling to get pregnant, please pass this on. If you are that friend, my inbox and DMs are always open. You are not alone .. and there's nothing to be ashamed about. I've got you, you've got me -- we've got each other.
Also, my friend Taylor Elyse Morrison featured me in her new #MySelfCareLooksLike series. Check it out and then subscribe to this month-long series.
Links I Love
If you guessed this week's articles are going to be all about Toni Morrison, then you, my friend, are correct. Earlier this summer, Morgan Jerkins wrote about why Toni is the "greatest living American author" and I concur. In 2014, Angela Davis talked about having Toni as a friend and mentor. There's so much #BlackGirlMagic here, I'm in utter awe. And last, but certainly not least, the radical vision of Toni Morrison.Â
My Latest Obsession
Earlier this year, I read Toni Morrison's latest work, The Source of Self-Regard: Selected Essays, Speeches and Meditations. It was ... a lot. There were sentences I had to read and reread because I didn't *get* it at first. But there were also sentences that I savored because of their structure, syntax and flow. There will never be another. Read this article from Bitch Media to learn how and why Toni Morrison is the source of her own self-regard.
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