06/20/2025
I was in middle school when I learned what it felt like to be the only one in the room.
Only Black girl.
Only familiar voice.
Only one trying to make space in a place that didn’t feel like it was made for me.
I was attending a debate competition in Vermont, an incredible opportunity. But what I wasn’t prepared for was being called out of my name by one of the white girls in the group. That moment shook me.
Not because I didn’t know who I was. But because I had never been attacked for it.
My response? Let’s just say I gave her some choice words and then told the adults in the room I needed to call my lawyer.
(I was 12… my “lawyer” was my mama 😂).
But even in that moment, awkward, angry, and unapologetically me, I showed something I didn’t yet have the words for:
Self-advocacy. Boundaries. Courage. Leadership.
See, I didn’t grow up chasing titles or platforms.
Leadership was planted in me from the beginning.
And now, as a Black woman who leads, I look back at that little girl with pride. Because she didn’t shrink. She stood firm. She spoke up. She protected herself even when the room didn’t.
To every Black woman who’s ever felt out of place, overlooked, or “too much”, you’ve always had it in you. Don’t let the world water you down.
