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Twenty Reasons to Love Being An African-American Woman
By Jeffica Long,
11th grade,
February 11, 2008
This is a poem for all those who don’t love or understand their ethnicity.
 Because I like me - Because I have a year-round tan of golden brown
- Because I represent a race of people who strive for freedom
- Because I come from a long line of go-getters, soldiers, and fighters
- Because their achievements have helped me to evolve
- Because I am strong and I stay true to myself with a soulful spirituality and physical mentality
- Because I will always be a survivor
- Because I am content with my nose and lips
- My dreams are in the planning stages
- My dreams will be realized
- And I know if I study hard, play fair, and be faithful to my dreams and not let others sway me, delay me, or put me down, I will triumph
- And I know there are so many lost and confused moments in my past, but I will persevere
- And get through them with my head held high
- And right now there are many lost and confused moments, but I will persevere and strive to get through them
 Because I represent a history of women—like Harriet Tubman, Rosa Parks, Nikki Giovanni, Maya Angelou, and Oprah Winfrey—who stood up to race with such grace and poise and began that change that will affect my soulful spirituality and physical mentality - Because we have come a long way
And I know my journey will never end
- And I will celebrate my heritage to its fullest extent because I am proud and content in my skin and it is ok to be strong, black, and beautiful
- And like many of my ancestors:
- I have come, I am seeing, and I will conquer, for I am a soldier in this war for freedom—confronted by all, defeated by some, but losing none
- I am who I am (P.S.: I’m loving it)
 This is a poem for all those who didn’t understand—but now do—how beautiful black is.
With Thanks to Nikki Giovanni
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