It’s been six months since I came on here, so I figured I should give y’all an update on my life.
Continue reading “Life As of Late”Category: Lex Files
The Power of Allyship
The older I get, the more and more significant my identity becomes to me. During the resurgence of the BLM movement last year, I wrote about how important it was to keep pushing for change. While a very obvious change occurred politically in the U.S. (read: the election), it does not mean the work is done and the problems have vanished, as evidenced by the recent shooting of Daunte Wright. I can (and will) talk until I’m blue in the face about systemic racism against black people, but today, I want to talk about strenghtening allyship.
As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, I joined a book club last summer that has truly become one of the primary highlights of my week. Each Sunday, I meet with other people of color to discuss books that directly address racism and race-related topics. It is the much-needed safe space that I didn’t realize was missing from my life. Every book helps me reshape my perspective and I think to myself, “This is it. This is the best book I’ve ever read” until we tackle another amazing read. A few books in particular, however, have really solidified how important allyship is. We started our club with primarily autobiographies and we started incorporating more fiction; still, the fictional and blended fact-and-fiction reads have detailed very real and historical events in communities of color across the globe. If you have been seeking new books by authors of color that give firsthand accounts of generational linkages, these are three you cannot miss:
Continue reading “The Power of Allyship”A Love Letter to My Hair (Updated 2021)
Let me just say, this is the longest amount of time I ever spent on a blog post. It is a wide open door into a hidden part of me that I never thought I would put on a public platform. But this is my blog and this blog is about my life, regardless of where I am in the world. This post is a very long one, so grab a cup of tea or a glass of wine; I hope you stay along for the ride!
I should start by saying my story is no different than any other black girl or woman’s story out there. This is simply just my story. Over the span of my life, I feel I have been exposed to an incredible amount of positive representation for black women in media and in my life. I feel so empowered to be black and every day I am reminded how amazing black people are. But I didn’t always appreciate it this way. Like many other black girls, I grew up wanting my hair to be different, to avoid getting ‘too dark’, and to be less curvy. It may seem silly to some people reading this, but it may not to others. This is the story of how my hair journey led me on an identity journey. Continue reading “A Love Letter to My Hair (Updated 2021)”
Reimagining the Bucket List
TW: Death mention.
I’m just going to say it: when we think of bucket lists, we think of death. I mean, that’s where the saying comes from–“kicking the bucket.” Often times, people don’t even seriously consider creating a bucket list until they have a near-death experience. But this post is about living. Living life to the fullest, more specifically. After my stay last week at the Virgin Hotel, I have been thinking a lot about my bucket list:
Lex in the City 