Blackout Tuesday Reminded Me Why I Vowed To Buy Black Only

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Rihanna’s words rang out to me from my Twitter feed, “We ain’t buying shit, we ain’t selling shit! Gang gang! #BLACKOUT AF!” Gang gang!

I felt the uncontrollable emotion welling up in me fiercely. I couldn’t stop it, and quickly, the tears began. It was the first time I cried, I mean truly wept, about anything other than losing my sister since she passed in 2016.

I felt small, helpless and useless. Every pitch that I received about some “new” and “game-changing” beauty product made me want to fly into a rage.

I began to go to all of the websites for organizations that I knew had been fighting for equality and initiatives that help the Black community—M4BL, Black Lives Matter, Black Visions Collective.