You have been infinitely blessed beyond measure
With a natural beauty unmatched by any product ever created to clone your heritage
Know who you are
How you descended from kings
Heiress to a dynasty of royalty
A living legacy
Modern day Nefertiti
Though pop culture wants to deny your true beauty
Negate and degrade you for being your authentic self
It is nothing but privilege that has created the idea of “going natural” as resistance
You don’t have to prove your self-worth to anyone
Don’t subject yourself to labels
Or get cornered in a box
When you were made to live outside the lines
A black Barbie doll
Never fit into European standards of beauty
Those hips weren’t meant to curve into narrow minded ideas
How they will continue to misappropriate your culture time and time again
But you know that your blackness
Is much too complex to be quantified
In a simple 12 step process
There is no science to this
But there are basic philosophies
Like loving yourself unapologetically
Being free of critique
Don’t concern yourself with the opinions of others
Everything you need is in your inner strength
One day, you won’t just be the Barbie
You could own all of Mattel
And be in control of what’s on the shelf
Providing positive images for little girls like yourself
So go out and be bold
Hold your head high
Walk with pride
Pick up your stride
Be confident in your blackness
It is the greatest gift God ever bestowed on the Nubian princess