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Brown sugar. Caramel. Red bone. Toffee. Light bright. Chocolate. Brown Skin.

Black and Beautiful.

This is an ode to B*A*P*S, you Black American Princessess, who like me, brave this crazy world with a shield of honor, intellect, beauty, and unwavering strength. Black American Princesses, with kinky, curly, sleek, straight shining crowns of glory, unique in your idiosyncrasies, but united in your drive to succeed.

A Black American Princess, who inherited the sorrow, the struggle, the pride, the love and the determination from Black America Queens. Queens who laid the foundation, bent their backs, dug in their heels, and carried burdens to pave a path never walked before. Queens of royalty: Nefertiti, Sheba, Cleopatra. Queens of literature: Maya Angelou, Alice Walker, bell hooks, Toni Morrison. Queens of song: Aretha Franklin, Diana Ross, Chaka Khan. Queens of change: Harriet Tubman, Rosa Parks, Angela Davis, Winnie Mandela. Queens of expression: Madame CJ Walker, Dorothy Dandridge, Grace Jones, Oprah.

These Queens birthed opportunity and diminished mediocrity. They gave us princesses hope. They passed down their faith and encouraged our freedom. They built a platform for us to stand upon; a treasured place in a world that stifles us. Because of these queens, we have a voice.

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Sing it loud, I’m black and I’m proud.

I’m proud of where I came from, and excited about where I’m going. My past is a part of who I will be, and knowing my lineage is one of royalty, I’m free. Free from the stigmas placed on me, as a Black American. Free from the “crabs in a barrel” mindframe. Emancipated from feeling inferior or inadequate. Will I struggle? Yes. Will I fall? Over and over. Will I cry? Repeatedly. But will I get back up and try again? FOREVER.

I’m black. I’m American. But I come from queens.

I’m a Black American Princess, I reign free.

Erinn is a freelance writer, bred and born in the San Francisco Bay Area. When she doesn’t have her nose in a book, she chronicles her life as a Bay Arean.

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