Letter From The Editor- Fall 2024

Around 1:30 p.m. on a bright Tuesday afternoon in May, I stepped into one of my favorite health food cafés located in one of the more affluent parts of town. I placed my order and took a seat in one of the white wicker chairs next to the hydroponic wall garden, finally settling in to look around as I waited on my acai bowl. Locs, twists, braids, and bright head wraps dotted the room, framing glowing black and brown faces.

(Pictured right: Me with this issue's cover model, Sarah Al-Mandhrey)

Deep, melodious laughter coming from the couple in the corner, rhythmic chatter from the group of friends standing in line, and stuttered blending from the guy with the most glorious afro working behind the counter, enveloped the room. As it happened, they made up more than 2/3 of the crowd that day, sitting and talking leisurely, eating sea moss out of glass jars and ordering shots of apple cider vinegar and elderberry juice.

Moments like this always make my day. Seeing faces that look like mine, doing things they have been told time and again they were not allowed to do. Stereotypes are a real pain to deal with on a daily basis, but it’s so much fun to break them and see people’s faces when their whole reality has been turned on its head. After a while, it becomes something of an extreme sport, addictive and exhilarating.

For some of our readers who live in larger cities where this scene might be more common, you may think this is no big deal, and perhaps it’s not. But for many more of us, it’s a rare moment of absolute bliss, to know that the place you’re sitting in for the next 15 minutes is emotionally safe, each one of those black and brown faces quietly acknowledging the other and the special kind of courage it takes to live outside of the box you’ve been placed in and resist your own oppression. So, get on the boat, hit the slopes, swim in the deep end, and drink a kale juice while watching your kid practice for their dressage team, and look around just to see who’s staring at you. 

Smash your box and live well.