Let Them Choke! We Will Not Be Humbled

People have a problem with confident Black women. And an obsession with trying to humble us. When we walk in rooms, heads held high, assured that we belong, folks are rooting for us to fail. But we win. We win anyway. 😤

This is present on my heart as Angel Reese, the center for LSU’s championship-winning women’s basketball team, is being critiqued for not cowering and not bragging when she won. Because one thing the world is gonna do is tell Black women to be less confident, less assured. Folks try to humble us. 😒 If you’re gonna be mad every time we win with gumption, you just gon stay mad.

But how do we take up space, use our voices and disrupt the rooms we’re in for the greater good, even as the world tells us to shrink? And how do we do so while being proud of who we are? And how do we find the people who can walk alongside us as we do it (our village)? This is truly what it means to be a Troublemaker, at any age.

Never break yourself down into bite-sized pieces. Let them choke.

THAT is what we will be talking about on my Troublemaker Book Tour, kicking off on April 28. I will be doing an event in Chicago (hometown). I want to ignite change and inspire people to be the troublemakers that our world needs desperately.

This Troublemaker Tour is gonna be so dope, with laughter, thought-provoking conversations, and a sense of community that we all need right now. I am passionate about creating a world that centers Black women, and where everyone has a seat at the table so we can all use our voices to make a difference. That’s what the Troublemaker Tour is all about. And it’s gonna be amazing. 🙌🏾

I will be joined by some INCREDIBLE women, who will be sharing the stage with me. They’re women who know what it’s like to be considered too much, too bossy, too colorful. I call them my friends, my sisters, my village. They are disruptors in their own right and their brilliance blows me away all the time.

April 28 – CHICAGO, IL (with Eunique Jones Gibson)

May 15 – VIRTUAL (with Tabitha Brown)

Yeah, these are gonna be soul-filling evenings and I am so excited!

Tickets are on sale NOW, and it would be dope to see you there. Bring yourself. Bring a friend. Bring your teenager. Come share these affirming spaces with me.

Let’s make some trouble together!

P.S. 📕 Every ticket to the tour includes a copy of LITTLE TROUBLEMAKER MAKES A MESS to share with a tiny rebel in your life.