We're Going to Need More Wine

by Gabrielle Union

“The very time I thought I was lost, My dungeon shook and my chains fell off.”

“Stay afraid, but do it anyway.”

Most black people grow accustomed to the fact that we have to excel just to be seen as existing, and this is a lesson passed down from generation to generation. You can either be Super Negro or the forgotten Negro.

Minstrelsy makes the audience comfortable.

People don’t know what to do with you if you are not trying to assimilate.

“You were fly, dope, and amazing from birth,” I would tell that girl now. “From the second you took your first breath, you were worthwhile and valid. And I’m sorry you had to wait so long to learn that for yourself.”

I resolve to embrace my sexuality and my freedom to do with my body parts as I see fit. And I will learn about my body so I can take care of it and get the pleasure I deserve. I will share that information with anyone and everyone, and not police the usage of any vagina but my own. So help me Judy Blume.

Everything you remember is what you remember.