But if I believe that I can become beautiful, I become an economic subject. My desire becomes a market. And my faith becomes a salve for the white wo… - Tressie McMillan Cottom

But if I believe that I can become beautiful, I become an economic subject. My desire becomes a marker.

White women need me to believe I can earn beauty, because when I want what I cannot have, what they have becomes all the more valuable.

White women need me to believe I can earn beauty, because when I want what I cannot have, what they have becomes all the more valuable. I refuse them.

If I believe that I can become beautiful, I become an economic subject. My desire becomes a market.

One of the few surveys of public attitudes about black girls was conducted in 2014.4 The majority of those surveyed said that black girls need less protection and nurturing than white girls. Being perceived as grown comes with consequences even when you are not yet an adult.

... I try really hard not to write dumb things. I cannot speak for Mr. Brooks.

...we find that what black feminists promised all along was true: to know the most present marginalized oppressions is to know the future.