I Love My Blackness!

Using white eyeliner, I recreated the look of masonjoany, a traditional facial paste worn by women and girls in Madagascar, the Comoros, and Mayotte. Traditionally made from ground sandalwood (known locally as tabàky), masonjoany serves both cosmetic and practical purposes, including protection from the sun and spiritual significance in some communities. While the original material is not readily accessible to me as someone living in Lenapehoking (present-day New Jersey), I chose to respectfully improvise using white eyeliner to honor and reflect this cultural practice from my Malagasy heritage.

I wrote a poem titled “Tìa ny maha-mainty àho” (“I Love My Blackness” in Malagasy) as an expression of self-love and cultural pride. As an Afro-Indigenous woman who has faced discrimination and harmful comments about my physical appearance, I believe it is essential to uplift and celebrate Black features, both for personal healing and as a form of collective empowerment. Growing up, I experienced pressure to conform to Eurocentric beauty standards, receiving relaxers from a young age after being told my hair would be "easier to manage." However, by age 13, I began my natural hair journey, eventually doing the "big chop" in high school. Despite facing criticism, I remained committed to embracing my natural hair and identity. I intentionally curated my social media to reflect beauty that looks like mine, surrounding myself with affirming images of Black women with natural hair and Afrocentric features. This journey is about more than personal choice; it's a resistance to colorism, featurism, and internalized bias. I hope to remind young Black women and girls that their features are not only beautiful but powerful. In a world that often appropriates what it once mocked, loving ourselves as we are is a revolutionary act. We are beautiful, we are worthy, and we are the standard. Below, you’ll find my original poem along with a self-help worksheet of the same title, which I created by drawing from both my academic background in psychology and social work, and my lived experiences as an Afro-Indigenous woman.

Tìa ny maha-mainty àho 🖤✊🏽

I love my corkscrew curls,

spilling past my shoulders,

woven with the memory of my late Aunt

her hands braiding,

her voice carrying stories

of ancestors who mapped freedom

in the language of hair.

I love my head shape,

made for balance,

like the women before me

who carried baskets of food and hope

across miles of earth.

I love my caramel-brown skin,

glistening in sunlight.

I love my almond eyes,

tiny universes, they say,

eyes that dream of a brighter future,

that see the beauty of Blackness

in every shade, shape, and curve.

I love my wide nose,

breathing in the smell of good food,

fresh air, and home.

I love my curves,

unapologetic, unshrinking,

heirlooms of bodies

that danced to the drum’s heartbeat.

I love my loud, unrelenting voice,

the one the world tries to quiet,

but cannot.

The healer’s voice,

the prayer’s voice,

the funeral song that makes the room weep.

I love my mind,

quick and brilliant,

carrying the weight of my pain

and theirs,

still building, still solving,

still surviving under a system

meant to break me.

I love my smile, my laugh,

gifts from those who crossed the Middle Passage

and still kept their joy.

I love my tattoos and piercings,

marks of my Indigeneity

no colonizer could erase.

And I love my spirit,

unyielding,

immortal,

breathing in me now,

and in every generation yet to come.

My tattoo features a phrase in Yesa:sahį, the language of the Eastern Siouan peoples, Indigenous to present-day North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, and Ohio, one of my ancestral tongues. It reads: "lé: maini:naǫse mīwa-nu-htākan mima Yesą", which translates to: "We are still here, we are Native, I am Yesah."

This worksheet is intended for Afro-descended individuals with ancestral connections to the African continent. Created from both personal experience and a commitment to collective healing, it serves as a tool for self-empowerment and affirmation in the face of anti-Black racism, colorism, featurism, and texturism. The prompts are designed to celebrate natural beauty and foster self-love, especially in a world where authentic representation is often lacking or misrepresented. Click the link below to access the worksheet.

Link to Worksheet: https://www.canva.com/design/DAGvfkIsSzU/BypkbEa22CfE1MeFw-BxOw/view?utm_content=DAGvfkIsSzU&utm_campaign=designshare&utm_medium=link2&utm_source=uniquelinks&utlId=h37300f009c

To explore additional self-help worksheets I’ve created, please visit the Nedewahe Ita:i — “Strong Relatives”: An Afro-Indigenous Alliance of Turtle Island and Beyond website. Nedewahe Ita:i is an Indigenous-led, grassroots organization based in Lenapehoking (present-day New Jersey), dedicated to preserving and revitalizing Afro-Indigenous and Indigenous histories through community-driven initiatives, cultural advocacy, and intergenerational healing. Our mission is to uplift Indigenous peoples globally through accessible tools and resources that center wellness and connection.

Logo for Indigenous led, grassroots organization.

You can find the full collection of worksheets on the "Healing and Wellness Tools" page. A direct link is provided below for your convenience.

Link: https://sites.google.com/view/nedewaheitai/healing-and-wellness-tools

Please note: The resources and materials shared through Nedewahe Ita:i are intended to support personal reflection, cultural affirmation, and emotional well-being. They are not a replacement for professional mental health care, medical treatment, or therapeutic services. We encourage individuals to seek guidance from licensed health professionals for clinical support, diagnosis, or treatment.