Black Man
Black women need to be loved.
They need to be respected.
They need to be valued.
They need to be supported.
They need hugs and kisses.
They need flowers for no reason.
They need safety and security.
They need comfort.
They need honesty.
They need compassion.
They need tenderness.
They need warmth.
They need softness.
They need LOVE.
But Black Men need that too.
Black men are starving for loving words of support and encouragement because they don’t receive them.
Because all we’ve ever taught or told them was:
“Act like a man.”
“Man up.”
“Big boys don’t cry.”
But that’s Toxic Masculinity.
And toxic masculinity is harmful to us as a society and people and to men themselves.
“Men get depressed.
Men have anxiety.
Men have mental health issues.
Men die by suicide.
Men self-harm.
Men get heartbroken.
Men get abused.
Men get raped.
Men feel judged.
Men get cheated on.
Men have trauma.”
Men are human too.
Men thrive under pressure, but they also thrive under safety, joy, warm hugs, and compliments; men thrive in love.
“No matter how indestructible we look like we are we’re all human at the end of the day,”
~DeMar DeRozan
So…
Black man!!!
You are fully human and you have the right to feel and express the full breadth of your emotions, feelings, and experiences.
You have a right to take up space.
Because…
You have always been the source, you have always been the cup, you have always been the water, you have always been the flower, you have always been love, you are and have always been loved.
May you learn to see, smell, and admire the flowers from your own garden.
Love.
