Starting off in our careers we have all made mistakes. Maybe we hitched our wagon to someone who didn’t have our best interest at heart, maybe we misspoke at a time when silence was necessary, maybe we tried to play the game by the wrong rules. No matter what the case may have been it is important to remember those times and show grace to those who are coming into our industries after us.
(Image source: The Shade Room)
Every time I have leveled up, it has been with the sponsorship of a black woman who was in the industry before me. A black woman who was more experienced and more knowledgeable. A black woman who gave me the cheat codes behind the scenes that my white counterparts never would.
(Image source: The Shade Room)
Seeing Nicki Minaj being open to having a conversation and reconciling with The City Girls is an important demonstration of being able to show compassion and understanding. While there are times we need to enforce others to “keep that same energy”, there are others when we need to demonstrate understanding and guidance. For many black women, there is no guide or playbook for what we are building. We’ve been taught that there can only be one token in many industries and this has embedded the notion that other black women are our enemies and not our allies.
I loved seeing this, and I would love to see more of this. It is because we embrace and show compassion towards one another that we have and will continue break chains.