sunday energy #19
black love and the naacp awards
I’m in LA this weekend. I’ve actually been here fore about a week, during which time it has been raining relentlessly — I even saw fat little pebbles of hail falling from the sky on Friday. I am still having a great time here, though. Yesterday I attended the NAACP Image Awards with my friend Akwaeke (who was nominated for their romance novel You Made A Fool of Death With Your Beauty 🙌🏿), and danced with wild abandon at the after party until my too-tight heels screamed “bitch, you thought!!” Now I’m enjoying coffee and donuts in my hotel room as I write to you.
This Sunday, I’m meditating on something that happened earlier in the evening last night — the acceptance speeches Gabrielle Union and Dwyane Wade gave during the Image Awards. There was a palpable energy in the air as they spoke, as Dwyane Wayde lovingly spoke directly to his daughter Zaya Wade, saying, “As your father, my job isn’t to create a version of myself, or direct your future. My role is to be a facilitator to your hopes, your wishes, your dreams.”
People talk a lot about this concept of “Black love” but always in respect to romantic love, couple goals and all that shit. But to hear a Black father say these things, express this kind of actionable love to his trans daughter on a national stage felt deeply significant, especially given the context — while last night there were the most Black queer people on stage than I ever remember seeing at these awards, both the NAACP and BET have been rightly criticized in the past for excluding Black LGBTQ+ people.