onyx, obsidian, melanite, coal, tar, cast iron, smoke, soot, storm clouds, ink, oil, blackboards, pepper, sesame, blackberries, coffee, crows, ravens, night, afros, beaded braids, cornrows, du-rags, silk hair bonnets, shea butter for skin, cocoa butter for scars, coconut oil for hair, wide-tooth combs, hair picks, raised fists, dap, the hum of a church organ, the collards at a repast, the solo before the sermon, the hair grease dripping down the edges of foreheads, the plastic butter container saved for tupperware, the eye roll, always the eye roll, putting a handle on an elder’s name, the
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